WALES

Foreign Investment

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with UK Trade and Investment on opportunities for increasing foreign direct investment to Wales.

David Jones: I have regular discussions with UK Trade and Investment on opportunities for increasing foreign direct investment to Wales. I welcome the news from Ernst and Young's attractiveness survey that in 2012 Wales recorded its highest level of inward investment for five years.

Sick Leave

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many days on average staff of his Department in each pay grade were absent from work as a result of ill health in each of the last 12 months.

Stephen Crabb: The Wales Office is not an employer in its own right. Data on average working days lost are provided to the Department by the Ministry of Justice at quarterly intervals. The most recent data provided, which cover the 2012-13 financial year, state that the number of average working days lost was nine. As the Wales Office is a very small Department, breaking the numbers down into their specific pay grades, would risk the identification of individuals.

Staff

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much his Department spent on (a) recruitment agency fees, (b) outplacement agency fees for displaced or redundant staff and (c) staff training in each of the last 12 months.

Stephen Crabb: The Wales Office spend on (a) recruitment agency fees and (c) staff training in each of the past 12 months is illustrated in the following table.
	
		
			 Month Spend on recruitment agency fees Spend on staff training 
			 June 2012 241.23 455 
			 July 2012 218.74 776 
			 August 2012 111.28 1,377 
			 September 2012 144.20 80 
			 October 2012 58.46 0 
			 November 2012 141.57 0 
		
	
	
		
			 December 2012 273.00 0 
			 January 2013 208.34 0 
			 February 2013 246.61 0 
			 March 2013 248.88 0 
			 April 2013 186.86 182 
			 May 2013 311.48 0 
		
	
	The Wales Office has not paid any outplacement agency fees during the past 12 months.

Vacancies

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what his Department's vacancy rate was in 2012-13; and what vacancy rate has been assumed for 2013-14.

Stephen Crabb: The Wales Office average vacancy rate for the financial year 2012-13 was 14%. The Wales Office does not assume an average vacancy rate for financial years.

NORTHERN IRELAND

MITIE Group

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much her Department spends on contracts with MITIE; and how much was spent on contracts with MITIE in each year since 2008.

Theresa Villiers: My Department does not hold any contracts with MITIE.

Mobile Phones

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which companies supply (a) mobile telephones and (b) mobile data services to her Department.

Theresa Villiers: Mobile telephones are supplied to my Department by BT, O2, Orange and Vodafone. Mobile data services are provided by BT and Vodafone.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Civil Disorder

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effects of the 2011 summer riots on crime statistics in each of the last two years.

Damian Green: The Home Office has previously published analysis of the crimes that took place in some urban areas between Saturday 6 August and Thursday 11 August 2011.
	This analysis found that in the year to September 2011, there were a total of 4,052,866 crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales, of which 344,937 were recorded in August. Through a special data collection exercise, police forces affected by the disorder supplied data on recorded crimes that were related to the disorder.
	Ten forces experienced more extensive disorder (defined as where more than 20 offences were recorded related to the disorder) and together recorded a total of 5,112 disorder-related offences between 6 to 11 August, equivalent to 1.5% of the total number of crimes recorded for August. These figures show that although the disorder involved a very high level of visible criminality in some localised areas, the overall impact on national recorded crime figures was relatively small.
	Due to the limited impact on the overall recorded crime figures, no additional analysis has been produced.
	Further information on this analysis can be found in ‘Crime in England and Wales: Quarterly Update to September 2011’:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/116501/hosb0112.pdf
	and ‘An overview of recorded crimes and arrests resulting from disorder events in August 2011’
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/116257/overview-disorder-aug2011.pdf

Counter-terrorism

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what work she has undertaken to create better links between universities, colleges, local authorities and communities engaged in Prevent work.

James Brokenshire: In conjunction with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, we have recently appointed 10 Prevent regional co-ordinators across the country for the higher and further education sectors. They will bring together the universities and colleges in each area to discuss good practice, case studies and emerging issues, in conjunction with local police Prevent Engagement Officers and local authority Prevent co-ordinators, all of whom engage closely with communities.

Counter-terrorism

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Prevent strategy regional champions are currently in post; and what assessment she has made of their work.

James Brokenshire: 10 Prevent regional co-ordinators for the further education and higher education sectors are in post across the country.
	The co-ordinators have only recently come into post and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, as the lead department for Prevent in further and higher education institutions, is currently undertaking an initial assessment of their work.

Counter-terrorism

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which police forces have agreed Prevent strategy programmes with universities.

James Brokenshire: The police play a central and vital role in working alongside and within key sectors, including universities.
	ACPO (Terrorism and Allied Matters) coordinate Prevent policing at a regional, force and local level, including the delivery of Prevent policing programmes with universities.

Counter-terrorism: Greenwich

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding has been provided to Greenwich Council under the Prevent programme in each of the last five years.

James Brokenshire: Under the Department for Communities and Local Government area based grant funding model for the Preventing Violent Extremism programme, since 2008-09 Greenwich council has received £453,474. In total: £125,000 in 2008-09; £168,292 in 2009-10; and £160,182 in 2010-11.
	Greenwich became a Prevent priority area in April 2012. As such, Greenwich is entitled to direct funding from the Home Office for a Prevent co-ordinator. For the financial year 2012/13, Greenwich has received £38,653 from the Home Office for the funding of their Prevent Co-ordinator. As a Prevent priority area Greenwich is also entitled to apply for funding to conduct Prevent-focused projects. Greenwich has had one research project approved to date, jointly with the Redbridge council. Redbridge will receive the funding through the grant.

Counter-terrorism: Scotland

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Scottish Government have requested any meetings with her to discuss the provision of counter terrorism intelligence sharing in the event of Scottish independence.

James Brokenshire: The Scottish Government have not requested any meetings with my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary to discuss the provision of counter terrorism intelligence sharing in the event of Scottish independence.

Fraud

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of attempted fraud have been reported to Action Fraud in the last 12 months.

James Brokenshire: In the last 12 months, 148,150 reports of fraud have been made to Action Fraud. This figure includes confirmed and attempted frauds and cannot be broken down further.

Police: Surveillance

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the parents of children who died and whose identities were used by undercover police officers have been contacted by the police.

Damian Green: holding answer 27 June 2013
	Operation Herne, the investigation into undercover policing in the Metropolitan police, is maintaining contact with a number of families, or representatives of families, concerned that their child's identity may have been used by undercover officers. For operational reasons, connected to the safety of the officers, no information has been given to any families of deceased children whose identities may have been used by undercover police officers.
	However, as my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary informed Parliament on 24 June 2013, Official Report, column 25, chief constable Mick Creedon, who is leading Operation Herne, expects that his investigation will report on allegations about use of the identities of deceased children before the House rises for the summer recess.

TRANSPORT

Aviation

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the costs levied against consumers who are required to make minor administration changes to flight booking information.

Simon Burns: The Department has made no such assessment. However, the European Commission have recently published a proposal to revise EU Regulations on air passenger rights. One of the proposals is that airlines would be required to allow passengers to make minor changes to their flight bookings free of charge.

East Coast Railway Line

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of delays to East Coast Main Line rail services were due to (a) overhead wire failures, (b) signalling failures, (c) other infrastructure failures, (d) flooding or other weather events, (e) vehicles, persons, or animals on the line, (f) train failures, (g) unavailability of staff and (h) other causes in each of the last three years for which records are available.

Norman Baker: The data requested is held by the Office of Rail Regulation. The table below shows the proportional split of responsibility for delay minutes affecting East Coast train services in the last year, as published on the following website:
	http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/upload/pdf/network_rail_monitor_1213q4.pdf
	The financial year 2012/13 is the first year in which such information has been made publicly available.
	
		
			 Proportional split of delay minute responsibility: East Coast 2012-13 
			 Percentage 
			  Responsible party 
			  Network Rail East Coast Other Train/Freight companies 
			 2012-13 69 18 13

Great Western Railway Line

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what steps he will take to improve flood monitoring systems on the Western route in cases of increased extreme weather disruption;
	(2)  what steps his Department is taking to prevent future flood damage on the Western rail route.

Norman Baker: Network Rail's Strategic Business Plan outlined high level measures to increase their expenditure in ‘Civils’ (structures, earthworks etc) including improvements to flood mitigation. Network Rail continues to develop better understanding of the relationship between safety, asset reliability and weather conditions. These include supporting systems to measure potential earthwork slip risk notifications, flood risk notification (including an Environment Agency warning service) and the Met office severe weather warnings notifications: tailored for monitoring Network Rail assets.
	I have specifically asked Network Rail to liaise closely with the Environment Agency to ensure the solution to the resilience issues at Cowley Bridge are resolved in a co-ordinated manner which is suitable to all interested parties.

Great Western Railway Line

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made in increasing the capacity of the Western route.

Simon Burns: Major investment has been committed to increase the capacity of the Great Western route. Upgrading of the Reading area will be completed by 2015. Upgrades of the Oxford and Bristol areas will be completed by 2016 and 2017 respectively. New, higher capacity electric trains will be in service on the Great Western Main Line from 2017.

Great Western Railway Line

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what decisions have been made on funding for resilience works to improve the Western route, in line with the recommendations of the Network Rail resilience review.

Simon Burns: Network Rail has identified the works it considers necessary to counter extreme weather and is exploring ways these might be funded within the Draft Determination published by the Office of Rail Regulation on 12 June:
	http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/pr13/consultations/draft-determination.php

MITIE Group

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department spends on contracts with MITIE; and how much was spent on contracts with MITIE in each year since 2008.

Norman Baker: The level of expenditure by the Department for Transport and its six Executive Agencies on contracts with MITIE since 2008 is shown in the table below:
	
		
			 £ 
			  08/09 09/10 10/11 11/12 12/13 13/14 Total 
			 DfT central department 3,789 2,254 0 0 0 0 6,043 
			 DVLA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 DSA 286,109 420,085 741,041 106,330 35,796 0 1,589,361 
			 HA 19,325 2,171 0 0 0 0 21,496 
			 MCA 0 9,377 25,835 25,195 30,340 84,954 175,701 
			 VCA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 VOSA 967 609 3,628 1,809 3,433 672 11,118 
			 Total 310,190 434,496 770,504 133,334 69,569 85,626 1,803,719

Pedestrian Crossings: Accidents

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many pedestrians were killed or injured while using pedestrian crossings in each of the last three years for which data are available; and how many such deaths and injuries occurred at (a) pelican and (b) puffin crossings.

Stephen Hammond: The following table gives the total number of pedestrians who were killed or injured on pedestrian crossings in road traffic accidents reported to the police in Great Britain for 2010, 2011 and 2012.
	
		
			  Human controlled crossing(1) Zebra crossing(2) Light controlled pedestrian crossing(3) Total 
			 2010 125 847 1,342 2,314 
			 2011 84 865 1,362 2,311 
			 2012 116 891 1,366 2,373 
			 (1) Includes school crossings and police officer or traffic warden controlled crossings (2) Pedestrian crossings that are not controlled by traffic lights (3) Including pelican, puffin, toucan or similar crossing 
		
	
	The accident report form does not distinguish between the different types of light-controlled pedestrian crossings so it is not possible to report how many of the casualties were on specifically (a) pelican or (b) puffin crossings. These are grouped together in the fourth column of the table.

Roads: Accidents

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make an estimate of the total number of road traffic casualties in 2012, including those not reported to the police.

Stephen Hammond: The Department's latest estimate of the total number of road traffic casualties, including those not reported to the police, is that there was a total of 730 thousand casualties in 2011. The information required to update this estimate is not yet fully available. However, the Department plans to update this estimate for the year 2012 in its annual road safety publication, ‘Reported Road Casualties Great Britain’, scheduled for release in September 2013.

Serco

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department currently spends on contracts with Serco; and how much was spent in each year since 2008.

Norman Baker: The current level of expenditure by the Department for Transport and its six Executive Agencies on contracts with Serco, as well as spend in each year since 2008, is shown in the table below.
	
		
			 £ 
			 Business Unit 08/09 09/10 10/11 11/12 12/13 13/14 Total 
			 Dft Central 429,584 550,908 299,036 92,060 59,974 1,848 1,433,410 
			 DSA 67,278 1,376 6,401 1,313 1,895 0 78,263 
			 DVLA 573,001 1,661,271 1,320,350 600,052 527,307 132,175 4,814,156 
			 GCDA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 HA 15,297,416 12,447,228 10,337,325 9,605,385 5,566,324 1,081,849 54,335,527 
			 MCA 4,227 452 598 810 3,449 183 9,719 
			 VCA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 VOSA 30,636 84,681 81,815 18,112 6,121 54 221,418 
			 Total 16,402,142 14,745,916 12,045,525 10,317,732 6,165,070 1,216,108 60,892,493

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Developing Countries: Family Planning

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps the Government plans to take to encourage the promotion of family planning in developing countries.

Lynne Featherstone: The ground-breaking London summit on family planning in July 2012, hosted by the UK Government and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, mobilised policy, financing, and delivery commitments to support the rights of an additional 120 million women and girls in the world's poorest countries to use contraceptive information, services and supplies by 2020. At the summit more than 20 developing countries made bold commitments to address the policy, financing and delivery barriers that women face while trying to access contraceptive information, services and supplies, and more have since joined this movement. Donors pledged $2.6 billion to help fund these commitments, exceeding the summit goal.
	At the summit, the UK announced its commitment to double its efforts on family planning, from an average of £90 million per year to an average of £180 million per year, (£516 million over eight years) towards achieving the summit goal. These funds are supporting governments, civil society, the UN and other partners in over 40 countries to provide family planning information, services and supplies as part of a package of essential health services, and to address the wider social and cultural barriers to access, including support for the empowerment of women and girls.

Developing Countries: Religious Freedom

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make it her policy to only deliver aid to organisations with a commitment to freedom of religion or belief.

Lynne Featherstone: The UK recognises that human rights underpin sustainable development. DFID's partnership principles require that before providing direct financial support to Governments, we assess their shared commitment to respecting the human rights of citizens, including freedom of religion and belief. In 2011, DFID developed Faith Partnership Principles outlining our approach to working with faith groups to overcome poverty.

Developing Countries: Religious Freedom

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will identify freedom of religion or belief as a priority for her Department's work.

Lynne Featherstone: The UK recognises that human rights underpin sustainable development. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is the leading Department on human rights. DFID works closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in promoting freedom of religion and belief worldwide.
	DFID's partnership principles require that before providing direct support to Governments, we assess their shared commitment to respecting the human rights of citizens, including freedom of religion and belief. In 2011, DFID developed Faith Partnership Principles outlining our approach to working with faith groups to overcome poverty.

International Assistance

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development in what ways the Government plan to seek to ensure the recognition of often marginalised groups, such as nomadic communities or children with disabilities, in the post-2015 millennium development goals.

Justine Greening: The UK is highly active both in the numerous United Nations fora that address the post-2015 agenda, including the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals, and with partner governments in capitals. We are proactively building support for the High Level Panel's recommendation that the new goal framework 'leave no one behind,' and that data be disaggregated by social and income groups with no target considered 'achieved' unless it is met for all groups.

MITIE Group

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much her Department spends on contracts with MITIE; and how much was spent on contracts with MITIE in each year since 2008.

Alan Duncan: The following table provides details of departmental spending with MITIE since 2008.
	
		
			  Amount (£) 
			 2008-09 0 
			 2009-10 102,927 
			 2010-11 877,270 
			 2011-12 2,042,770 
			 2012-13 2,484,689 
			 2013-14 YTD 599,808 
		
	
	MITIE's contract since 2011-12 covers three tasks, Security, Catering and Facilities Management. Prior to this date MITIE were only contracted to do the first of these.

Palestinian Authority

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what measures her Department has in place to ensure that UK aid to the Palestinian Authority general budget is not used to sponsor events and activities endorsing terrorism.

Lynne Featherstone: UK aid is remitted to a World Bank multi-donor trust fund and is used exclusively to pay for the salaries of civil servants. The list of approved recipients is subject to vetting processes and does not include Palestinian Authority (PA) employees who are on international and ad-hoc sanctions lists. Independent audits of the use of DFID's funding by the PA are carried out every six months.

Press Subscriptions

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much her Department spent on newspapers, periodicals and trade publications in the last 12 months.

Alan Duncan: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

St Helena

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what on-the-ground predator control measures were conducted in 2012 within the Airport Development Area of the St Helena Air Access project; and for which target species.

Alan Duncan: Until June 2012, when major construction works commenced, predator control on Prosperous Bay Plain was undertaken by the St Helena National Trust Wirebird Predator Control Project. This work continues in upper Prosperous Bay Plain. Since then the Contractor monitors the airport construction site for predator species including cats, mice and rats on a daily basis in compliance with the Contractor's Environmental Management Plan. Invertebrate predators such as centipedes and brown widow spiders are also monitored. Effective waste management is implemented throughout the Airport Development Area to discourage predator species. If an increase in predators is noted, predator control specialists from the St Helena Government's Environmental Health Directorate and the St Helena National Trust are engaged for advice and practical assistance where necessary.

St Helena

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps were taken in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012 to conserve the population of the beetle Homoeodera scolytoides found in the Airport Development Area of the St Helena Air Access project; and how many such beetles are being kept in captivity.

Alan Duncan: A 2003 survey found a single specimen of the beetle Homoeodera scolytoides in the Eastern Arid Area. An invertebrate survey undertaken in the area in 2012 did not find any evidence of its presence. As surveys have not provided conclusive evidence of the continued presence of the species in the Airport Development Area no further steps were taken to conserve the population of Homoeodera scolytoides. As no specimens have been found it has not been possible to keep any Homoeodera scolytoides in captivity.

St Helena

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the effect of the St Helena Air Access project on the mole spider population on the area known as Southern Ridge; and whether any such spiders have been taken into captivity for conservation purposes.

Alan Duncan: An invertebrate and habitat survey of the Southern Ridge was undertaken in 2012, which established the presence of the mole spider in a limited area east of 'Creeper Hill'. A significant portion of this area has been affected by the Airport Project to comply with UK Department for Transport security requirements. Monitoring of the wider area has identified the continued presence of mole spiders on the Southern Ridge, with further significant populations found in the Central Basin and near Bradley's Camp. To date no mole spiders have been taken into captivity for conservation purposes.

St Helena

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the effect of the St Helena Air Access project on the crab spider Bonapruncinia sanctae-helenae.

Alan Duncan: The crab spider Bonapruncinia sanctae-helenae has not been seen since 1967 when two juvenile specimens were found, but the exact location of these discoveries is unknown. Invertebrate surveys in 2003, 2012 and 2013 did not find any further evidence of the presence of this species within the Airport Development Area.

Staff

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much her Department spent on (a) recruitment agency fees, (b) outplacement agency fees for displaced or redundant staff and (c) staff training in each of the last 12 months.

Alan Duncan: In financial year 2012-13 DFID's expenditure was:
	
		
			 Category of expenditure 2012-13 figure (£) 
			 Recruitment agency fees and staff emoluments (1)2,083,296 
			 Outplacement agency fees for displaced or redundant staff 0 
			 Staff training (2)2,806,315 
			 (1) This figure represents the total paid to recruitment agencies. These payments were for the services of temporary staff and included both payment to the individual and a fee to the recruitment agency. It is not possible to disaggregate this figure. (2) This figure represents payments to training providers for staff training and professional development for DFID staff, including staff appointed in country (SAIC).

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Housing Benefit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the likely effect of changes to the payment of housing benefit on the ability of registered landlords to borrow for housing investment; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: The Department for Communities and Local Government is working alongside the Department for Work and Pensions to ensure that universal credit is designed in a way that protects social landlords' financial position. To help achieve this, we are working closely with a group of social landlords and local authorities from six areas across the country on the direct payment demonstration projects, to test the impact of paying housing benefit direct to tenants.
	More information, including the payment rates for the first nine payments of the projects and further background can be found in the press package released by the Department for Work and Pensions in May 2013:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/direct-payment-demo-figures-may-2013.pdf
	A key aim of the demonstration projects is to explore the best safeguards to protect tenants and social landlords from the risk of increases in rent arrears. The projects are also helping local authorities and housing associations understand how they need to prepare for the introduction of universal credit. We intend to use the evidence gathered from the projects to inform the design of universal credit, including consideration of safeguards that would best protect the financial position of social landlords and reduce the risk of tenants falling into debt.
	On 27 June, my noble Friend the Minister for Welfare Reform, Lord Freud, set out a package of measures intended to protect landlords' financial position in universal credit in a speech at the Chartered Institute of Housing annual conference. Further information, including the package of measures, can be found here:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/direct-payments-system
	Universal credit is about making work pay, so that everyone becomes better off when they move into work, or when they start working longer hours. By removing the distinction between being in work and out of work, by ensuring that there is a clear financial return for each extra hour worked, and by removing the existing hours rules, Universal Credit is expected to increase the income of the poorest workers, increase employment, reduce poverty and to start to break of the cycle of workless households in succeeding generations.

Landlords: Licensing

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities in England have used the selective licensing powers as defined under section 80 of the Housing Act 2004 to date.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 2 July 2013
	This information is not held centrally.

Solar Power: Planning Permission

Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the statement of 16 June 2013, Official Report, column 113WS, on onshore wind (local planning), whether the new planning guidance will apply to proposed solar parks; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer of 18 June 2013, Official Report, House of Lords, column WA34.

Urban Areas

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress his Department has made since the publication of the Portas review to assist retailers to report on their support of high streets in their annual reports.

Mark Prisk: In the Government's response to the Portas review in April 2012, we welcomed this recommendation and encouraged retailers to volunteer to report on their support of the local high street in their annual report. Many major retailers already report on their corporate social responsibility activities, which will often include work to support local communities.
	Business in The Community (BITC) has set up a High Street Champions programme with funding from DCLG. Businesses with a commitment to town centres are being asked to provide support and encouragement for a Portas pilot to help them achieve their objectives. The High Street Champions are working with their Town Teams to deliver positive change in their towns. So far 20 of the 27 pilots have been matched with a champion and they are aiming to match the remaining pilots soon.

Urban Areas

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress his Department has made since the publication of the Portas review in encouraging large retailers to support and mentor local businesses and independent retailers.

Mark Prisk: The Future High Street Forum, which I co-chair with Alliance Boots executive Alex Gourlay, brings together leaders across retail, property, business, academics, third sector, civil society and government to drive forward new ideas and policies to address the challenges facing high streets. One of the challenges the forum will tackle is encouraging strong local leadership, including getting businesses involved alongside local government and communities.
	As part of their support to the Portas pilots, the Government have been funding Business In The Community to co-ordinate and manage business support and engagement with the Portas pilots. This has seen them set up the High Street Champions programme, where businesses with a commitment to town centres can provide support and encouragement for a Portas pilot to help them achieve their objectives, and to deliver positive change in their towns.
	Further support to small businesses from Government relating to mentoring includes supporting Mentorsme.co.uk, the national mentoring portal operated by the British Bankers Association, and funding the Get Mentoring initiative which aims to recruit and train 15,000 volunteer business mentors from small and medium-sized enterprises. The National Skills Academy for Retail is also rolling out a national mentoring scheme for retail small and medium-sized enterprises, throughout its network of over 50 Skills Shops.

JUSTICE

Cannabis

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many Vietnamese nationals have been convicted of crimes connected to cannabis cultivation since 2010.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. This database holds information on offences provided by the statutes under which proceedings are brought but not the specific circumstances of each case. It is not possible to identify from this centrally held information the nationality of offenders sentenced for criminal offences.

Courts

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which courtrooms he has visited since his appointment.

Helen Grant: The table provides details of visits made to courts by the Secretary of State for Justice since his appointment in September 2012:
	
		
			  Institution visited 
			 6 September 2012 Leicester Magistrates Court 
			 26 September 2012 Southwark Crown Court Visit 
			 27 November 2012 Cardiff Crown Court 
			 24 January 2013 Warwickshire Justice Centre 
			 6 February 2013 RCJ Belfast 
			 22 March 2013 Ealing Magistrates Court 
			 3 April 2013 Ipswich Crown Court 
			 24 April 2013 Derby Combined Court Centre 
			 29 May 2013 Nottingham Magistrates Court 
			 13 June 2013 UK Supreme Court

Courts

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the running costs of the commercial courts in England and Wales were in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012; and how much income was generated by those courts in each such year.

Helen Grant: The commercial court operates as part of the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court, but HMCTS does not record separately the costs or income for specific types of work delivered in its civil courts. We therefore cannot separately identify the specific running costs or income attributable to the commercial court.
	The Government are on target to achieve their aim to recover the full cost of civil and family business by the end of 2014-15 and a statement showing the total income and expenditure is published in the HMCTS Annual Report and Accounts which can be found at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/corporate-reports/hmcts

Crime: Fixed Penalties

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many penalty notices for (a) disorder and (b) shoplifting goods up to the value of £200 were issued in each of the last five years; and how many such notices were not paid in each year;
	(2)  how many simple cautions were issued for shoplifting in the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright: Information on Penalty Notices for Disorder (PND) issued to persons aged 16 and over; by offence (including retail theft up to the value of £200) and outcome, is available in the public domain, in Table 3.12C of Volume 3 Part 12 of the supplementary volumes of each annual Criminal Justice Statistics publication on the MOJ website. Please follow the links:
	2011:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/162623/volume-3-dec2011.zip.zip
	2010:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/162673/volume-3.zip.zip
	2009:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/162917/volume3-court-proceedings-penalty-notices-for-disorder-and-cautionsby-police-force-area-a.zip.zip
	2008:
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110110161733/http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/docs/criminal-statistics-2008-v3a.zip
	2007:
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110110161733/http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/docs/crim-stats-2007-vol3.zip
	Once an unpaid PND is passed to Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service, for enforcement action, it is not possible to identify those PNDs that remain unpaid without looking at each individual account. In the financial year to the end of December 2012, there was a £3.17 million increase in cash collection of financial penalties (excluding confiscation) on the same period in 2011-12.
	The number of offenders cautioned (includes simple cautions) for ‘shoplifting’ in England and Wales from 2007 to 2011, can be viewed in the table.
	On 3 April 2013, we launched a review into the use of cautions which will focus on the use of cautions for serious offences and persistent offenders. Among other things, the review will examine whether there are some offences for which the use of simple cautions is generally inappropriate, the reasons why multiple cautions are given to some criminals and the difference in the use of cautions by police force areas. The review is a significant step to ensuring that cautions are used correctly, in the interests of justice, and command the confidence of the public.
	Information on the use of PNDs and cautions in 2012 is planned for publication on 30 May 2013.
	The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill now before Parliament includes a provision making shop theft involving property valued at £200 or less a summary-only offence (although defendants would still be able to elect to be tried in the Crown court). This means that low-value shoplifting cases would be subject to more efficient procedures, and could be added to those offences that the police can prosecute directly without the involvement of the CPS.

Crime: Victims

Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the estimated spending on support for victims of crime will be in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15.

Helen Grant: The Government is committed to making sure that victims and witnesses get the support they need. That is why the Ministry of Justice has allocated over £50 million to organisations providing support to victims of crime in 2013-14.
	From 2013-14 onwards we will raise up to an additional £50 million to fund victims' services through reforms of the Victim Surcharge, which were introduced in October 2012, and increased financial penalties such as Penalty Notices for Disorder and Fixed Penalty Notices. Total spend on support to victims of crime, in addition to the £50 million already allocated, will be dependent on the revenue raised through these reforms.
	Policy officials are currently working with the sector and Police and Crime Commissioners to confirm the indicative national and local budgets for 2014-15.

Criminal Injuries Compensation

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many applications for compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme have been (a) received, (b) accepted and (c) rejected since the new scheme was established, by type of injury.

Helen Grant: 16,160 claims have been received under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012 (the Scheme). In most cases investigations are ongoing but there have been 586 awards made and 3,589 claims rejected. The following table shows the number of awards offered by injury type.
	Injury descriptions, from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme's ‘Tariff of Injuries’, are used as the primary basis for paying compensation so they are only reliably recorded once CICA have assessed someone as eligible to receive the compensation payable for that injury. Therefore, The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) does not hold a breakdown of received or rejected applications by type of injury. When people apply for criminal injuries compensation they are asking CICA to assess what happened to them, decide whether they are eligible for compensation and, if so, how much. I have placed a breakdown of the awards offered by injury type in the parliamentary Library.
	
		
			 Short name Count 
			 Retina damage one eye 1 
			 Simple skull fracture no op 2 
			 Loss of 2 or 3 front teeth 3 
			 Fractured ulna substantial rec 1 
			 Fract wrist—scaphoid subst rec 3 
			 Collapsed lung 2 
			 Signf scarring lower limbs 1 
			 Sexual assault child level B12 exceeding 3 years 31 
			 Sexual assault 3 years level B11 4 
			 Sexual assault child level B4 28 
			 Frac/disl ankle sub recovery 2 
			 Frac mand/max no op level A2 8 
			 Dis/frac elbow substantial rec 1 
			 Scar neck significant disfigure 1 
			 Minor head injury over 28 weeks 2 
			 Partial loss of ear(s) 2 
			 Sexual assault level B9 58 
			 Tinnitus longer than 13 weeks 1 
			 Disable neck injury over 13 wks 2 
			 Loss of crowns 1 
			 Loss of front tooth 4 
			 Strained back—13 weeks or more 2 
			 Leg tendon modt dmge level A5 1 
			 Fatal—one qualifying relative 6 
			 Fatal—multiple qualifying 61 
			 Sexual assault level B10 3 
			 Detached retina one eye 1 
			 Damage tooth/teeth req crowns 3 
		
	
	
		
			 Fractured humerus subst recov 1 
			 Significant scarring to torso 3 
			 Sexual assault child level B10 2 
			 Sexual assault child level B11 41 
			 Sexual assault serious level B3 28 
			 Frac mand/max op reqd level A3 17 
			 Scar face significant disfigure 26 
			 Sign scarring to upper limbs 4 
			 Sexual assault child level B8 19 
			 Sexual assault minor level B1 26 
			 Sexual assault child minor level B1 13 
			 Fractured metatarsals—one foot—sub recovery 1 
			 Fractured radius subst recov 1 
			 Scar head significant disf 8 
			 Sexual assault child level B9 51 
			 Physical abuse child minor 2 
			 Sexual assault child level B3 20 
			 Fractured tibia—one leg—sub recovery 1 
			 Orbital blow out operation 5 
			 Inj req laparotomy one organ 2 
			 Punctured lung 1 
			 Simple skull fracture—req op 1 
			 Moderate burns to torso 1 
			 Sexual assault child level B7 19 
			 Sexual assault severe level B4 21 
			 Sexual assault child level B2 9 
			 Sexual assault child level B4 13 
			 Orbital blow out no operation 3 
			 Frac zygoma op reqd sub recov 3 
			 Scar face serious disfigurement 2 
			 Serious scarring to upper limb 1 
			 Sexual abuse exc 3 yrs level B12 2 
			 Sexual assault child level B5 4 
			  586

Driving Offences: Sentencing

Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many drivers in (a) England and (b) Gloucester have been prosecuted for causing death while disqualified in each of the last five years; and what the average length of sentence was in each such category in each such year;
	(2)  how many people in (a) England and (b) Gloucester were prosecuted for dangerous driving in each of the last five years; and what the average length of sentence was in each such category in each such year.

Jeremy Wright: The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates court and offenders sentenced to immediate custody at ail courts, with average custodial sentence length, for the offences of causing death while disqualified and dangerous driving, in Gloucestershire police force area and England, from 2008 to 2012, can be viewed in the table. The proportion of defendants given custodial sentences in England has increased since 2010.
	
		
			 Defendants proceeded against at magistrates court and offenders sentenced to immediate custody at all courts, with average custodial sentence length(1) for the offences of causing death while disqualified and dangerous driving, in Gloucestershire police force area and England, 2008 to 2012(2, 3, 4) 
			 Force and offence Outcome 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Gloucestershire:       
			 Causing death by driving: unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured drivers(5) Proceeded against (7)— (7)— (7)— (7)— (7)— 
		
	
	
		
			  Sentenced (7)— (7)— (7)— (7)— (7)— 
			  Of which:      
			  Immediate custody (7)— (7)— (7)— (7)— (7)— 
			  Average custodial sentence length (months)(1) (7)— (7)— (7)— (7)— (7)— 
			 Dangerous driving(6) Proceeded against 43 25 19 19 27 
			  Sentenced 38 24 22 16 25 
			  Of which:      
			  Immediate custody 13 6 11 5 7 
			  Average custodial sentence length (months)(1) 8.6 9.8 9.5 13.0 7.4 
			 England:       
			 Causing death by driving: unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured drivers(5) Proceeded against 1 16 20 20 14 
			  Sentenced (7)— 9 19 18 13 
			  Of which:      
			  Immediate custody (7)— (7)— 3 5 3 
			  Average custodial sentence length (months)(1) (7)— (7)— (8)— 8.4 (8)— 
			 Dangerous driving(6) Proceeded against 3,667 3,578 3,267 3,073 2,789 
			  Sentenced 3,426 3,216 2,991 2,728 2,600 
			  Of which:      
			  Immediate custody 1,285 1,211 1,085 1,059 1,044 
			  Average custodial sentence length (months)(1) 9.4 9.1 9.7 98 9.8 
			 (1) Excludes life and indeterminate sentences. (2) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (4) The number of defendants sentenced in a particular year may exceed the number proceeded against as the proceedings in the magistrates court took place in an earlier year and the defendants were sentenced at the Crown court in the following year; or the defendants were sentenced for a different offence to that for which they were originally proceeded against. (5) Road Traffic Act 1988 as amended by Road Safety Act 2006. S.32B (6) Road Traffic Act 1988 as amended by Road Traffic Act 1991.S.2 (7 )Nill (8) Figure suppressed as numbers sentenced to immediate custody too small to give meaningful average sentence length. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice.

Juries

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were called for jury service (a) nationally and (b) in Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency in each of the last three years; and what proportion of those people were considered unfit to serve on a jury.

Helen Grant: The number of summons issued, jurors supplied and those disqualified from serving on a jury in England and Wales for the period 2007 to 2012 can be found as part of table 3.31, ‘Chapter 3—Criminal cases’ of the Ministry of Justice statistics bulletin “Court Statistics Quarterly”.
	The table can be found at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/207806/court-stats-q1-main-tables.xls
	Published information is not available at the constituency level.

Members: Correspondence

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Bridgend of 29 May 2013, reference MM/LF/05013.

Helen Grant: I can confirm that a copy of the reply has been sent via e-mail and post to the hon. Member on 25 June 2013. This is within the MOJ target deadline of 15 working days.

Michael Turner

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on what dates and at which times he has met Mr Michael Turner QC in his capacity as Chairman of the Criminal Bar Association since 1 January 2012.

Jeremy Wright: The Secretary of State for Justice has met regularly with the legal profession to discuss the Transforming Legal Aid proposals. This includes meetings with the Law Society, Bar Council, Circuit Leaders and roundtable meetings with Law Society members.
	The Secretary of State has not met with Michael Turner QC. However, Lord McNally, lead Minister for legal aid at the MOJ met with Mr Turner on 30 May 2013.
	The Department publishes quarterly meetings between Ministers and all external organisations. Quarters from January 2013 will be published in due course. This can be found at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/corporate-reports

Offenders: Mental Health Services

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many mental health treatment requirements were issued as part of a community sentence in England and Wales in 2012;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the introduction of a mandatory punitive element in community sentences on the use of the mental health treatment requirement.

Jeremy Wright: The number of offenders starting a community order with mental health treatment requirements in England and Wales is published annually within Table A4.9 of the 'Offender Management caseload statistics'—2012 Annual tables, and is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/offender-management-statistics-quarterly--2
	Courts are required by law to impose requirements that are the most suitable for the offender. This duty will become subject to the requirement to include a punitive element in every community order once the relevant provision in the Crime and Courts Act 2013 is commenced. It will be for the courts to determine which punitive element is appropriate and proportionate in every case. We do not expect the mandatory punitive element to impact on the use of mental health treatment requirements. Courts must still have regard to the purposes of sentencing including "the reform and rehabilitation of offenders".
	In October 2012 the Government published an Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) covering their response to the consultation document Punishment and Reform: Effective Community Sentences. This said that certain punitive requirements may, with reasonable adjustment, be appropriate for offenders with various protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, which include disability. The EIA reflects the Government's view that the new duty will allow for flexibility to take account of needs related to protected characteristics.

Prison Sentences

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of criminal convictions and guilty pleas in (a) magistrates' courts and (b) Crown courts resulted in custodial sentences in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Wright: Statistics on the total number of offenders sentenced to immediate custody at magistrates courts and at the Crown court, in England and Wales, for the period 2002 to 2012, is available in the public domain. This can be found in the sentencing tables of the annual Ministry of Justice Criminal Justice Statistics publication, at the following link. Table 5.2 presents figures for volumes of offenders sentenced at magistrates courts, and Table 53 presents figures for volumes of offenders sentenced at the Crown court. Table 5.9 presents the percentage of offenders sentenced who are sentenced to immediate custody, by court type, for the period of 2002 to 2012, Table 5.26 presents offenders sentenced for indictable offences at the Crown court: Plea, immediate custody and average sentence length, for the period of 2002 to 2012.
	These show that the proportion of offenders sentenced to immediate custody has increased at both magistrates courts and Crown courts over the last five years, and the average custodial sentence length for offenders sentenced at all courts has also increased. The ratio of convictions against proceedings has also increased in the same period.
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/203849/5-sentencing-tables-dec12.xls

Prison Service: North East

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) operational support grades, (b) prison officer grades, (c) administrative grades, (d) operational and senior operational manager grades and (e) other grades received an exceeded marking on their staff personal development record at each prison establishment in the Prison Service North East area in (i) 2011-12 and (ii) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright: The deadline for completing the Staff Personal Development Record exercise is 30 June. Data is therefore not yet available for 2012-13. Information relating to 2011-12 is in the following table.
	
		
			 Number of staff in post in the North East receiving a exceeded marking on Staff Personal Development Record, broken down by grade and establishment, 2011-12 
			 Grade Deerbolt Durham Holme House Kirklevington Grange Low Newton Northumberland North East Total 
			 Operational Support Grades (1)— (1)— 10 (1)— (1)— 10 30 
			 Officers 20 50 100 20 20 60 280 
			 Operational Manager and Senior Managers (1)— 10 10 (1)— 10 10 40 
			 Administrative Grades 20 40 40 10 20 50 170 
			 Other Grades 10 10 30 10 (1)— 20 70 
			 All Grades 60 110 190 40 50 140 600 
			 (1) Denotes suppressed values of 5 or fewer. Low numbers are suppressed, in conjunction with the rounding policy to prevent disclosure in accordance with the Data Protection Act, 1998. AH figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Totals are formed from unrounded parts prior to rounding. For this reason, rounded totals may not equal the sum of their rounded parts. Note: HMP Frankland, which is located within the North East region but is managed with the High Security Estate is not included in the figures.

Prisoners on Remand

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners were on remand in May 2010.

Jeremy Wright: As at 30 April 2010, the number of prisoners on remand in England and Wales was 12,814.
	The figure provided was published in Table 1 of Population in Custody April 2010 statistical bulletin:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/163128/pop-custody-april10a-table.xls.xls
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prisoners' Transfers

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prison-to-prison transfer movements there were in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012.

Jeremy Wright: The following provides information on the total number of prison-to-prison transfers, other than of Category A prisoners:
	
		
			 Date Inter-prison transfers 
			 April 2010 to March 2011 72,152 
			 April 2011 to March 2012 67,779 
			 April 2012 to March 2013 74,054 
		
	
	Category A prisoner movements are arranged locally. Information on them is not held centrally and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Prisoners: Foreign Nationals

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many foreign national prisoners (a) are in prison and (b) were in prison in May 2010; and what steps are being taken to send them to secure detention in their own countries.

Jeremy Wright: The number of foreign nationals in prison in England and Wales was 10,725 as at 31 March 2013 (latest available data) and 11,153 as at 31 May 2010.
	Where possible we use prisoner transfer agreements to ensure that foreign national prisoners serve out the remainder of their sentence in their home countries. 14 member states have now implemented the EU Prisoner Transfer Arrangement and we are starting to see progress in the transfer of prisoners.
	In January 2013 we signed a compulsory prisoner transfer agreement with Albania and we are continuing to pursue similar agreements with our other high volume countries.

Prisoners: Per Capita Costs

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what the cost per prisoner was in (a) publicly run prisons, (b) privately run prisons, (c) the whole prison estate and (d) each individual prison in each year since 2010-11;
	(2)  what the cost per prison place was in (a) publicly run prisons, (b) privately run prisons, (c) the whole prison estate and (d) each individual prison in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13.

Jeremy Wright: As part of the Government's Transparency Agenda, the Department routinely publishes full details of average costs per prisoner and place, based on actual net resource expenditure for each private and public sector prison and in summary form for the whole of the prison estate in England and Wales after the end of the financial year. The information for financial years 2011-12 and 2010-11 is published as an Addendum to the NOMS Annual Report and Accounts and available on the Department's website at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prison-and-probation-trusts-performance-statistics-2011-12
	This link includes restated figures for 2010-11 to enable a more true comparison with 2011-12. Copies of these are also placed in the House Library. Figures for financial year 2012-13 have not yet been finalised and therefore not yet available.
	The Government are committed to delivering reform in our public services. The Prison Competition Phase One Programme will deliver efficiency savings, in line with other public sector prisons, over the next four years.
	Care must be taken in considering the comparison between private and public sector costs for the following reasons:
	1. The public and private groups of prisons are not homogenous groups in terms of prison category, size, or age and these factors may have a greater impact on average costs than whether the prisons are public or private sector.
	2. The private sector contracts may have different responsibilities for provision of health or education services than public sector prisons. This will affect their relative costs.
	3. The different financing methods of PFI prisons mean that in an individual year the resource costs of private and public sector prisons are not directly comparable.
	4. The costs are based on resource expenditure recorded in NOMS Annual Accounts. The PFI prisons are on balance sheet, which means that the element of the private contractors’ charges related to the capital cost is not included in the unit costs, while depreciation of buildings is included. Following Government accounting rules, the charge against the resource budget is not calculated in the same way.
	5. The PFI prisons costs include a charge for interest on capital costs. There is no equivalent charge in the public sector costs.

Prisons

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost was of new equipment and furniture purchased for HMP (a) Shepton Mallet, (b) Kingston, (c) Bullwood Hall, (d) Canterbury, (e) Gloucester, (f) Shrewsbury and (g) Camp Hill in each year since 2010.

Jeremy Wright: The following table shows the cost of new equipment at each of the prisons in the last three financial years.
	The figures exclude assets under £10,000 in value. Assets valued under the £10,000 capital threshold are held locally at each establishment and are recorded on a Local Asset Register. These assets are not capitalised, and obtaining figures for them would incur disproportionate cost.
	
		
			 £ 
			 Establishment 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Bullwood Hall 14,422 18,332 0 
			 Camp Hill 25,938 0 0 
			 Canterbury 14,683 58,387 0 
			 Gloucester 41,206 25,770 0 
			 Kingston 107,781 16,814 27,000 
			 Shepton Mallet 0 0 0 
			 Shrewsbury 48,579 41,492 29,442 
			 Note: Costs for Kingston in 2012-13 relate to the essential purchase of a printing machine which is now being used at Blundeston Prison. Costs for Shrewsbury in 2012-13 relates to a digital security radio communication system purchased several months before the decision to close the prison was taken in January 2013. This asset, which was an essential part of the prison communication system, is now in storage and will be used by another establishment in the future. 
		
	
	The following table shows expenditure on 'Newgate' office furniture produced by the prison industries. There is no summary cost data available for in-cell and other non-office furniture. Costs for Camp Hill cannot be obtained without incurring disproportionate costs as it is operationally combined (Camp Hill is part of Isle of Wight Cluster which includes Albany and Parkhurst Prisons).
	
		
			 £ 
			 Establishment 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Bullwood Hall 404 5,664 3,693 
			 Canterbury 5,030 11,655 5,783 
			 Gloucester 0 0 0 
			 Kingston 8,348 20,303 5,527 
			 Shepton Mallet 2,259 4,889 1,185 
			 Shrewsbury 3,031 2,808 804 
		
	
	Data for new equipment has been drawn from central fixed asset database system and data for office furniture has been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the level of detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording systems.
	During the decommissioning process for the above prisons, all portable and serviceable items (including equipment and furniture) were relocated whenever it was practicable and economically viable to do so.

Prisons

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much was spent on building renovations at HMP (a) Shepton Mallet, (b) Kingston, (c) Bullwood Hall, (d) Canterbury, (e) Gloucester, (f) Shrewsbury and (g) Camp Hill in each year since 2010.

Jeremy Wright: The following table shows, for each prison, capital expenditure on maintenance projects and local expenditure on building enhancements.
	
		
			 £ 
			 Establishment 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Bullwood Hall -154,000 342,000 52,000 
			 Canterbury 72,000 22,000 0 
			 Gloucester 0 30,000 22,000 
		
	
	
		
			 Kingston 1,340,000 2,171,000 0 
			 Shepton Mallet 0 14,000 0 
			 Shrewsbury 165,000 665,000 624,000 
			 Camp Hill 0 0 0 
			 Note: Costs for Kingston in 2010-11 and 2011-12 relate to the installation of a new fire and general alarm system and a subsequent upgrade to the system. Costs for Shrewsbury relate to the replacement of the fire, general and cell call alarm system. These works, to which the Ministry of Justice was contractually committed in 2011, began about a year before the decision to close the prison was taken in January 2013. They were essential requirements for compliance with British and Prison Standards and provided the prisons with safe and reliable alarm systems. 
		
	
	Data for building enhancements has been drawn from central fixed asset database system and data for maintenance projects has been drawn from the Finance Ledger used for the Published Accounts. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the level of detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording systems.
	Credit balances, such as for Bullwood Hall in 2010-11, are caused by prior year accounting adjustments. Figures are rounded to nearest 1,000.

Prisons: Catering

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether the retail cost of any items available for purchase in prisons through the canteen system is subsidised from the public purse.

Jeremy Wright: I can confirm that there are no items sold through the canteen system which are subsidised from the public purse.

Prisons: Construction

Alec Shelbrooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what feasibility studies his Department has made on the construction of Titan prisons.

Jeremy Wright: I refer you to the answer given on 1 July 2013, Official Report, column 488W. As stated then we are not resurrecting the ‘Titan’ prison programme.
	On 27 June my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Justice announced that a new prison, that could hold around 2,000 prisoners, will be built in north Wales. Decisions on size, function and exact location within the region have not been made.

Prisons: Corruption

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what mechanisms are available for prison service employees to report incidence of corruption to his Department's Corruption Prevention Unit.

Jeremy Wright: Corruption in prisons is unacceptable, and this Government is determined to take robust action.
	Staff within prisons have a number of mechanisms available to them to report staff corruption. Staff may submit their report through Mercury—which is a new integrated intelligence management system which provides a greater level of security for those reporting concerns, however, staff may also report concerns to their Local Corruption Prevention Manager, their Regional Corruption Prevention Manager or the Corruption Prevention Unit directly via an internal wrongdoing hotline, a confidential address or functional mailbox address. Staff may also report any corruption to their line manager. If, however, staff feel unable to speak to someone within their establishment, they can contact Crimestoppers anonymously, which is available to any member of the public.

Prisons: Corruption

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many incidents were reported to the Corruption Prevention Unit in 2012; what the nature was of each such incident; and what the outcome was of each such report.

Jeremy Wright: It would be inappropriate for operational reasons, including implications for the integrity of security systems and to ongoing investigations and operations in to staff misconduct, to provide the information requested.
	NOMS will always seek to deal robustly with any member of staff engaging in an inappropriate relationship with a prisoner and will look to use internal disciplinary and/or criminal proceedings depending on the circumstances of the case.

Prisons: Employment

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners are earning under the Prisoner Earning Act 1996; and what proportion of such prisoner earnings are levied under the 2011 changes to that system.

Jeremy Wright: This Government brought into effect the law to ensure that those prisoners who are working as part of their rehabilitation must pay a proportion of that money to support victims services.
	During the 12 months from October 2011 to September 2012, there were a total of 1007 active prisoners, working out of prison on licence and subject to the Prisoners' Earnings Act levy. The total amount raised from this levy during the 12 month period was £757,906.
	It is estimated that the amount raised during this time was on average around 35% of applicable earnings after the £20 allowance.
	This money is being used by Victim Support to pay for new support services, help victims to recover from the trauma of crime and force criminals to take responsibility for the harm they caused.
	Further information on prisoner's earnings can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/162376/prisoners-earnings-act-sept-2012.pdf.pdf

Prisons: Employment

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether any UK prisons use non-prison workers to (a) cook, (b) serve meals, (c) perform prison maintenance and (d) clean.

Jeremy Wright: The National Offender Management Service has responsibility for prisons in England and Wales.
	For the purposes of responding to this PQ, “prison worker” has been interpreted as an individual who is either a serving prisoner or a direct employee of Her Majesty's Prison Service.
	Prisons in England and Wales do use non-prison workers for the work listed.

Prisons: Employment

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 11 June 2013, Official Report, columns 714-5W, on prisons: employment, if he will provide a list of the essential support tasks carried out by prisoners in England and Wales.

Jeremy Wright: The Government are committed to making prisons a place of work, where prisoners have to complete a full working day.
	Following is a list of activities undertaken by prisoners as currently recorded on P-NOMIS(1) (the Prison National Offender Management Information System) which can be viewed as essential support tasks—tasks which need to be completed to ensure a prison operates safely and decently.
	Activity service description
	Kitchen
	Library
	Orderly Cleaners
	Other Occupations
	Recycling Activity
	Wing Cleaning
	Works Department.
	These tasks can include, to provide further detail, the preparation, cooking, and serving of meals; the cleaning of kitchens and utensils; the cleaning of communal areas both in prisoner living areas and elsewhere in the prison; general maintenance; supporting library providers in librarian duties and working in prison stores. Using prisoners, under appropriate supervision, to undertake these tasks provides purposeful work and saves costs in not having to procure for such services.
	(1) Excludes specified industrial work.
	Note:
	The correct Hansard publication date was 19 June 2013, Official Report, columns 714-15W.

Prisons: Libraries

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what the annual cost of the Prison Library Service to the public purse is;
	(2)  how many prisoners borrowed books through the Prison Library Service in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Wright: For the financial year 2013-14 the budget allocated to running libraries in the prison service is £7.8 million.
	Prison Rules (1999) and Young Offender Institution Rules (1988) place on the Secretary of State the responsibility for ensuring that each prison establishment has a library. Prison Rules state: “A Library shall be provided in every prison and subject to any directions of the Secretary of State, every prisoner shall be allowed to have library books and to exchange them”. While access by prisoners to the library is tailored to establishment need, it must be at least every two weeks as an absolute minimum. Where prisoners are unable to access the library, an alternative service should be provided. Library services are seen as an important part in helping prisoner's literacy levels.
	In public sector prisons library services are provided under service level agreements with relevant local public library authorities. No central records are held of the total number of prisoners who borrow books and the information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Publications

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department spent on subscriptions to academic journals published by (a) Reed-Elsevier, (b) Wiley-Blackwell, (c) Springer and (d) any other academic publisher in each of the last five years.

Helen Grant: We have been reallocating resources so that more staff have access to a greater range of journals, while still reducing the overall cost of the MOJ library by 23% since 2010.
	Central expenditure on academic journals for the Department is set out in the table. (We do not have the figures for 2008-09.) There may be additional expenditure by teams who require very specialised information for their own use but these costs are not captured centrally.
	
		
			 £ 
			  2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Wiley 2,034 4,908 7,226 5,370 
			 Elsevier 1,704 1,928 5,154 1,609 
			 Springer 1,028 2,691 2,937 1,436 
			 Others 15,702 29,288 24,233 23,082 
			 Total 20,467 38,815 39,550 31,497

Reoffenders

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the proportion of reoffenders in UK prisons over the last 20 years;
	(2)  what steps his Department is taking to attempt to reduce the number of offences committed by individuals who have previously served a prison sentence.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice does not hold proven reoffending data for years prior to 2000; 2000 is the earliest year for which proven reoffending data exists for England and Wales on a comparable basis using data from the police national computer. These are available at;
	www.gov.uk/government/publications/proven-re-offending--2
	In recent years, reoffending rates have barely changed. Almost half of all offenders released from custody in 2010 reoffended within a year, and for prisoners sentenced to less than 12 months it is almost 60%.
	On 9 May, the Ministry of Justice published “Transforming Rehabilitation: a Strategy for Reform”, which sets out the plans for transforming the way in which offenders are managed in the community in order to bring down reoffending rates. Our reforms will extend statutory rehabilitation to offenders sentenced to less than 12 months, open up the market to a diverse range of new rehabilitation providers, and introduce new payment incentives to focus providers relentlessly on reducing reoffending.

Sexual Offences

George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the answer of 18 April 2013, Official Report, columns 566-8W, on sexual offences: police cautions, if he will break down the figures provided by the (a) age ranges, (b) gender of those concerned and (c) the category of offences in relation to the provisions of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

Jeremy Wright: The use of cautions is at its lowest level for more than five years, as is the number of cautions issued to those who have a previous criminal record. However, the public and victims have a right to expect that people who commit serious crimes should be brought before a court. On 3 April 2013 the Ministry of Justice launched a review into the use of cautions focused on the use of cautions for serious offences and persistent offenders. Among other things, the review is examining whether there are some offences for which the use of simple cautions is generally inappropriate, the reasons why multiple cautions are given to some criminals and the difference in the use of cautions by police force areas. The review is a significant step to ensuring that cautions are used correctly, in the interests of justice, and command the confidence of the public. We will announce our plans shortly.
	The decision whether to offer a caution is an operational matter for the police and in some circumstances the CPS depending on the circumstances of the offence and offender. Court will always be the right place for serious and contested cases and those involving prolific offenders. However, there will be a number of difficult cases, including those where both victim and perpetrator are children, or where victims and witnesses are reluctant to give evidence, where the police may decide that administering a caution is a preferable option to there being no record of the offence committed.
	During the 12 months ending September 2012, there have only been two offenders given more than one caution for a sexual offence in England and Wales.
	The following tables show the number of offenders given one or more than one caution for a sexual offence, split by age, gender and category of sexual offence (as defined by the Sexual Offences Act 2003) respectively in England and Wales in the 12 months ending September 2012 (the latest data available).
	The figures used in the tables remain consistent with the previously asked question.
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of offenders given a caution for a sexual offence, split by age range, in England and Wales, 12 months ending September 2012 
			 Number of cautions(1) 
			 Age range One caution More than one 
			 10 to 17 408 1 
			 18 to 20 225 0 
			 21 to 24 159 0 
			 25 to 29 142 0 
			 30 to 34 105 0 
		
	
	
		
			 35 to 39 65 0 
			 40 to 49 136 1 
			 50+ 213 0 
			 (1) The data in Table 1 include caution occasions and the primary offence committed for each caution occasion is the one used to determine the offence type. Where an individual has more than one caution within the year, the police force of the most recent caution has been used. Note: The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police. Source: Ministry of Justice 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Number of offenders given a caution for a sexual offence, split by gender, in England and Wales, 12 months ending September 2012 
			 Number of cautions(1) 
			 Gender One caution More than one 
			 Female 50 1 
			 Male 1,400 1 
			 Unknown 3 0 
			 (1) The data in Table 1 include caution occasions and the primary offence committed for each caution occasion is the one used to determine the offence type. Where an individual has more than one caution within the year, the police force of the most recent caution has been used. Note: The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police. Source: Ministry of Justice 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 3: Number of offenders given a caution for a sexual offence, split by category under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, in England and Wales, 12 months ending September 2012 
			 Number of cautions(1) 
			 Sexual Offences Act Category One caution More than one 
			 Abuse of a position of trust; causing a child to watch a sexual act 1 0 
			 Abuse of a position of trust: causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity 9 0 
			 Abuse of a position of trust: sexual activity with a child 4 0 
			 Arranging or facilitating child prostitution or pornography 1 0 
			 Arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence 4 0 
			 Assault by penetration 16 0 
			 Assault of a child under 13 by penetration 18 0 
			 Care workers: Sexual activity with a person with a mental disorder 2 0 
			 Causing a child to watch a sexual act 7 0 
			 Causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent 12 0 
			 Causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity 34 0 
			 Causing or inciting a child under 16 to engage in sexual activity 116 0 
			 Causing or inching a person with a mental disorder impeding choice to engage in sexual activity 1 0 
			 Causing or inciting child prostitution or pornography 4 0 
			 Causing or inciting prostitution for gain 51 0 
			 Controlling a prostitute for gain3 0  
		
	
	
		
			 Engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child 14 0 
			 Exposure 253 1 
			 Inciting a child family member to engage in sexual activity 3 0 
			 Meeting a child following sexual grooming etc. 10 0 
			 Paying for sexual services of a child 1 0 
			 Rape 8 0 
			 Rape of a child under 13 15 0 
			 Sex with an adult relative (offender aged 16 or over; relative aged 18 or over)—consenting to penetration 1 0 
			 Sex with an adult relative (offender aged 16 or over; relative aged 18 or over)—penetration 3 0 
			 Sexual activity with a child 254 0 
			 Sexual activity with a child family member 14 0 
			 Sexual activity with a person with a mental disorder impeding choice 2 0 
			 Sexual assault 420 1 
			 Sexual assault of a child under 13 65 0 
			 Voyeurism 60 0 
			 Sexual offences not covered in Sexual Offences Act 2003 47 0 
			 Source: Ministry of Justice

Sexual Offences: Victim Support Schemes

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 5 June 2013, Official Report, column 1130W, on sexual offences: victims, what specific provision his Department has made and what specific funding has been set aside within that listed to support victims of historic sex offences.

Helen Grant: The Ministry of Justice Rape Support Fund has been providing annual Grant funding of approximately £4 million a year since 2011 to 78 independent rape support centres around the country. This funding will continue until end March 2014. The funding is not disaggregated for survivors of recent or historic rape or sexual violence, but does include approximately £500,000 per annum for the funding of the 13 new rape support centres commissioned since 2011.

Veterans

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people passing through the justice system have a background in the military.

Jeremy Wright: As the Minister of State my right hon. and noble Friend Lord McNally said in another place on 25 June during the Report stage of the Offender Rehabilitation Bill, on the latest statistics available the number of regular veterans in prison is estimated to be 2,820. That is about 3.5% of the prison population. About 5,860 offenders in the community, approximately 3.4% of community offenders, had served in the regular armed forces.
	The Ministry of Justice does not routinely collate or report data on offender employment history. In this case the data is drawn from two data matching exercises which the Ministry of Justice carried out with Defence Analytical Services and Advice (DASA) in 2009. DASA published three reports resulting from these exercises on the Ministry of Defence website:
	http://www.dasa.mod.uk/applications/newWeb/www/index.php?page=48&pubType=3&thiscontent=550&Publish Time=13:00:00&date=2010-09-15&disText=Single% 20Report&from=listing&topDate=2010-09-l5
	under the heading Veterans: Criminal Justice System.

Young Offenders Institutions

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost of providing (a) breakfast, (b) lunch, (c) dinner and (d) all meals to each inmate at a young offenders institution was on Christmas Day 2012.

Jeremy Wright: The National Offender Management Service is responsible for setting food policy for prison establishments in England and Wales. There are a number of service delivery requirements that all prisons must meet, including that all prisoners are provided with three meals a day and offered a multi-choice pre-select menu for the lunchtime or evening meal and that the menu will reflect the diverse needs of the prison population.
	While guidance is provided to establishments the ultimate decision on what is provided and the cost of provision remains a local decision. As a result, the individual cost per meal will vary between establishments. For this reason it is not possible to provide the exact information requested. It is however possible to give illustrative figures based on the meals provided to one specific young offenders institution. The following costs are taken from the menu offered on Christmas Day 2012 at HM Prison and Young Offenders Institution Brinsford, Wolverhampton. Costing the most popular choice options for the day indicate the meal costs and total daily cost to be:
	Breakfast: 52p
	Lunch: £1.37
	Evening meal: 96p
	Supper pack: £1.06.

Young Offenders Institutions

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many juveniles of secondary school age there are currently in young offenders institutions.

Jeremy Wright: At the start of May 2013, there were 301 young people of secondary school age (aged 15 and 16 years) in under-18 young offender's institutions. This accounts for 29% of the total of 1,024 young people (including 126 18-year-olds) held in under-18 young offenders institutions.
	These data have been sourced from the e-Asset system which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing and can be subject to change over time. Data are provisional and will be finalised when the Annual Youth Justice Statistics are published in January 2015.

Young Offenders: Per Capita Costs

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what the average young offender cost the Exchequer in the latest year for which figures are available;
	(2)  what the average prisoner cost the Exchequer in the latest year for which figures are available.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) do not hold or collate average costs relating to prisoners or young offenders met in full by the Exchequer. Costs, for instance relating to Health or Education, are met by other Government Departments and such details are not held by the MOJ.
	However, as part of the Government's Transparency Agenda, the MOJ routinely publishes full details of average costs per prisoner and place, including average young offenders institutions (YOI's), based on actual net resource expenditure for each private and public sector prison in summary form for the whole of the prison estate in England and Wales after the end of the financial year.
	The latest information available for financial year 2011-12 is published as an Addendum to the NOMS Annual Report and Accounts and available on the Department's website at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prison-and-probation-trusts-performance-statistics-2011-12
	We plan to publish similar summary information for financial year 2012-13 on the MOJ website in October alongside the Management Information Addendum.
	Copies of all previous Annual Reports and Accounts are also placed in the House Library.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Legal Costs

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Attorney-General what the highest day rate paid for external legal advice by the Law Officers' Departments was since 7 May 2010.

Oliver Heald: The majority of external legal spend incurred by TSol and AGO is on Counsel, who charge by the hour rather than the day, and it therefore not possible to provide an estimate of the highest daily rate paid without incurring a disproportionate cost. The highest recorded hourly rate paid by the AGO since 7 May 2010 was £220. For Tsol, it was £120.
	The Crown Prosecution Service and Serious Fraud Office do not routinely record day rates for external legal services. To ascertain the highest daily rates paid for external legal advice would require a review of each individual transaction which would incur a disproportionate cost.
	The highest hourly rate incurred by the Serious Fraud Office is in relation to a current case. At the conclusion of the case the SFO will put into the public domain the total amount spent on fees paid to its external providers including legal advisers. The hourly rates paid for its external legal advice are commercially sensitive, however, and for that reason it would be inappropriate to disclose them.
	HMCPSI has not recorded any expenditure on external legal advice since 7 May 2010.

Treasury Counsel

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Attorney-General what hourly rates are paid to First Treasury Counsel.

Oliver Heald: Two First Treasury Counsel are retained to advise and represent Government in particularly complex and sensitive matters. Their hourly rate is £220 per hour excluding VAT.

Treasury Solicitor's Department

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Attorney-General what hourly rates the Treasury Solicitor's Department charges client Government departments.

Oliver Heald: The hourly rates (excluding VAT) the Treasury Solicitor's Department charges client Government Departments are as follows:
	
		
			 Grade Hourly rate £ 
			 Head of Division 165 
			 Senior Civil Servant 123 
			 Senior Lawyer (Grade 6) 108 
			 Lawyer (Grade 7) and Junior Lawyer (Legal Officer) 93 
			 Senior and Higher Executive Officer 78 
			 Legal Trainee, Executive and Administrative Officers 64

Treasury Solicitor's Department

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Attorney-General what hourly rate the Treasury Solicitor's Department pays to non-panel leading counsel instructed on an ad hoc basis.

Oliver Heald: A nomination from the Attorney-General is always required before a QC (other than First Treasury Counsel) is instructed; a rate is always agreed in advance of a nomination being approved. QC rates are negotiated with the QC's clerk and usually range from between £180 and £250 per hour. In rare cases and only in very exceptional circumstances, a higher hourly rate may be agreed because of the nature of the case.

Treasury Solicitor's Department

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Attorney-General which 10 barristers instructed by the Treasury Solicitor's Department received the largest amount in fees in the last year for which figures are available; and how much was received in each case.

Oliver Heald: The 10 barristers (being either First Treasury Counsel, QCs or members of the Attorney-General's panel of civil counsel) receiving the largest amount in fee payments from the Treasury Solicitor's Department in 2012-13 were as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			 Mr James Eadie QC 668,547 
			 Mr Jonathan Swift QC 295,119 
			 Miss Julie Anderson 255,777 
			 Miss Karen Steyn 208,880 
			 Mr David Blundell 199,016 
			 Mr Rory Phillips QC 192,450 
			 Mr Robin Tarn QC 191,163 
			 Miss Cathryn McGahey 187,693 
			 Mr Oliver Sanders 178,327 
			 Miss Kate Grange 175,542 
		
	
	It should be noted that these figures do not represent the personal earnings of the individuals listed in any one year and that there are also the following qualifications:
	The amount paid to barristers in one financial year is not necessarily reflective of the work carried out during that year. Payment may sometimes take place some time after the work has been done and so fees paid in one financial year may relate to an aggregate of work done over more than one year.
	All the figures listed exclude VAT (individuals must pay the VAT to HM Revenue and Customs) but are inclusive of disbursements incurred such as travelling costs.
	Barristers' fees cover their overheads e.g. chambers rent, staff salaries, equipment and stationery costs, professional indemnity insurance, pension contributions etc.
	The hourly rates on which these figures are based will in many cases be at a substantial discount to the hourly rates charged to their commercial clients.

Treasury Solicitor's Department

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Attorney-General how much was paid to barristers by the Treasury Solicitor's Department in the last year in which figures are available.

Oliver Heald: This answer is provided on behalf of the Treasury Solicitor's Department (TSol), Attorney-General's Office (AGO) and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI).
	The amount paid to barristers in 2012-13 was as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			 TSol 37,349 
			 AGO 222,664 
			 HMCPSI 500 
			 Total 260,513 
		
	
	Payments by AGO and TSol relate to their own cases and do not include payments to barristers paid for by other Departments. The HMCPSI payment is for a conference with Counsel relating to an inspection.
	The amount paid to barristers in one financial year is not necessarily reflective of the work carried out during that year. Payment may sometimes take place some time after the work has been done and so fees paid in one financial year may relate to an aggregate of work done over more than one year.
	All the figures listed exclude VAT (individuals must pay the VAT to HM Revenue and Customs) but are inclusive of disbursements incurred such as travelling costs.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Horticulture

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing the Australian system of cost-sharing between Government and the horticultural industry for tree health and plant biosecurity measures in the UK.

David Heath: The approach to responsibility and cost sharing in Australia was considered by the Tree Health and Plant Biosecurity Expert Task force in developing its advice on improving biosecurity. This was also one of the issues discussed by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the right hon. Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), on a recent visit to Australia.
	Urgent work is already under way on the task force's recommendations for a prioritised Plant Health Risk Register and to strengthen contingency planning. An announcement on further action will be made in the coming weeks. While there were no specific recommendations made in relation to responsibility and cost sharing, developing the future approach to plant health will include consideration as to whether the sort of arrangements operating in Australia could be effective here in helping strengthen plant biosecurity.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Bahrain

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on each training programme it ran in Bahrain in each year since 2008.

Alistair Burt: Through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) Bilateral Programme Funds, we spent approximately £15,000 in both financial year (FY) 2008-09 and FY 2009-10. In FY 2010-11, while there was a small allocation of FCO Bilateral Programme Funds for Bahrain, none of this allocation was used for training courses. In FY 2011-12 we spent approximately £40,000 on training programmes in Bahrain, and Bahrain was included in further regional projects. For this financial year and the following two we have allocated approximately £250,000 for training programmes in Bahrain, and also included Bahrain in regional projects. Included within this total is a youth engagement project for £17,000, capacity building for a community reconciliation project up to £195,000, and a project to introduce the Ministry of Interior to UK best practice in community policing. We have spent £13,000 this financial year so far, and we expect to be funding more training programmes as we look to work with the Bahraini authorities in the fields of human rights, the judiciary, and on grass-roots reconciliation initiatives.
	This money has, for example, funded human rights training for senior officials from the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Human Rights, and Ministry of Social Development. It has also enabled us to share best practice for developing an independent monitoring and public reporting system for places of detention to prevent mistreatment and torture. The FCO also funds regional training programmes which will have included and benefited Bahrainis over the last five years.

Bahrain

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which human rights groups the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State met during his March 2013 visit to Bahrain.

Alistair Burt: During my visit to Bahrain in March 2013 I met with representatives of the National Human Rights Institute, the Bahrain Transparency Society, and the Bahrain Human Rights Society.

Bahrain

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many UK Trade and Investment officials were based in Bahrain in each year since 2008.

Alistair Burt: Our embassy in Manama has a UK Trade & Investment resource of four locally engaged staff.
	Since 2008, there has been no change to this allocation.

Bahrain

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last raised human rights issues directly with his Bahrain counterpart.

Alistair Burt: We frequently and consistently raise our concerns on a range of human rights issues with the Government of Bahrain. I raised specific cases with the Deputy Prime Minister HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Mubarak on 21 May. Additionally the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), raised UK concerns with Crown Prince HH Sheikh Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa when they met on 29 May. Moreover I recently raised human rights when I visited Bahrain on 30 June.

Bahrain

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the value of UK exports to Bahrain was in each of the last five years.

Alistair Burt: The value of UK exports (goods and services) to Bahrain was:
	
		
			  £ million 
			 2008 527 
			 2009 543 
			 2010 479 
			 2011 529 
		
	
	Exports of goods increased in 2012 by 21.4% to £268 million. The figures for exports of services are not yet available.

Human Rights

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will revise the Human Rights and Democracy programme to enable support of longer-term projects than the one-year cycle currently permits.

David Lidington: Since April the Human Rights and Democracy programme has been able to support projects of up to two years in duration. The allocation of funding ensures that that the programme retains flexibility to fund both longer term strategic projects as well as more tactical or shorter duration projects.

International Covenant On Civil and Political Rights

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consideration he has given to the UK becoming a state party to the first optional protocol of the international covenant on civil and political rights.

David Lidington: The UK is committed to a strong and effective international human rights system and we are state party to a number of international human rights treaties including the international covenant on civil and political rights.
	The UK Government however remain to be convinced of the added practical value to people in the UK of rights of individual petitions to the UN, considering that the UK has strong and effective laws under which individuals may seek remedies in the courts or in tribunals if they feel that their rights have been breached.
	To date the UK's experience under the two optional protocols it has ratified (in 2004 to the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women and in 2009 to the convention on the rights of persons with disabilities) has not provided sufficient empirical evidence to establish the practical benefits of becoming a state party to a further optional protocol.

Iraq

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he holds on British Government projects in the Kurdistan region of Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The UK has funded a number of projects in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. These include training programmes for the police and women's shelter staff, and work with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to improve the protection of women's rights in legislation. We have also funded media training sessions for MPs in Erbil, and contribute to the European Union Integrated Rule of Law Mission—which aims to strengthen the rule of law and improve the justice system in Iraq. We will continue to work closely with the KRG through our Consulate General in Erbil.

Legal Costs

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on external lawyers' fees in the last year for which figures are available.

David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and our network of diplomatic posts around the world require external legal advice on a wide range of issues, including both litigation (before national and international courts and tribunals) and non-contentious matters (including commercial and property matters).
	The FCO has a budget for external legal consultancy, which is primarily used for payments of external legal fees for litigation before UK courts. In financial year 2012-13 expenditure from this budget totalled £2,248,416.64. Expenditure on legal fees for non-contentious matters and expenditure by diplomatic posts comes from devolved budgets. Records of these types of expenditure are not held centrally and a response covering such spending could be given only at disproportionate cost.

Military Aid

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what legal advice he has commissioned from outside his Department on the transfer of lethal military support to non-state actors.

William Hague: As I said in my statement to Parliament on 20 May, no decision has been made on whether to supply lethal military support to the Syrian opposition. This route would only be pursued under certain conditions, namely in conjunction with other nations, in carefully controlled circumstances, in accordance with our obligations under national and international law. The British Government ensures that it acts in accordance with domestic and international law obligations. It is a long standing convention followed by successive Governments not to comment on legal advice to Ministers.

Military Aid

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what legal advice he has commissioned from within his Department on the transfer of lethal military support to non-state actors.

William Hague: As I said in my statement to Parliament on 20 May, no decision has been made on whether to supply lethal military support to the Syrian opposition. This route would only be pursued under certain conditions, namely in conjunction with other nations, in carefully controlled circumstances, in accordance with our obligations under national and international law. The British Government ensures that it acts in accordance with domestic and international law obligations. It is a long standing convention followed by successive Governments not to comment on legal advice to Ministers.

MITIE Group

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spends on contracts with MITIE; and how much was spent on contracts with MITIE in each year since 2008.

David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has held no contracts with MITIE Group since 2008. The last contract held by FCO with any part of the MITIE group lapsed in November 2008.

Mobile Phones

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which companies supply (a) mobile telephones and (b) mobile data services to his Department.

David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office uses Vodafone, primarily for its UK users, as supplier of mobile telephone and mobile data service. This contract was awarded after a competition under the Government Procurement Service Mobile Solutions Framework.
	UK missions overseas procure mobile phones and services locally. These local contracts are awarded to suppliers that meet the required service levels and standards, and to suppliers that offer the best value for money. Unfortunately, it is not possible to obtain a list of all mobile phone suppliers used by UK missions overseas without incurring disproportionate costs.

Press: Subscriptions

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on newspapers, periodicals and trade publications in the last 12 months.

David Lidington: In the last 12 months total global spend recorded for Publications and Library and Information Services was £1.7 million, a 15% reduction from £2 million in the same period 2011-12. These amounts cover spend across over 260 UK embassies and diplomatic posts overseas, as well as all Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Departments in London. The FCO continues to seek savings including by switching from paper to electronic subscriptions where cost effective and by partnering with other Government Departments to obtain best value when purchasing these goods and services.

Religious Freedom

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will establish a sub-group of the Human Rights Advisory Group to focus on freedom of religion and belief.

David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) did, in the past, have a Religious Freedom Panel but it was replaced by the Secretary of State’s Advisory Group on Human Rights in 2010. In choosing the members of the group, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), ensured that specialists on religious freedom were included as well as an appropriate balance of expertise, diversity and experience.
	FCO Ministers and officials also regularly meet with experts in freedom of religion or belief and faith leaders to understand their current concerns and to examine how we can better work together to promote the universal commitment to religious freedom. We do not believe a sub-group on freedom of religion or belief would add significant value.

Religious Freedom

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps to promote the Rabat Plan of Action within the United Nations.

David Lidington: The Rabat Plan of Action on the prohibition of advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence has been welcomed by the UN including at the Human Rights Council (HRC) in March. We fully support its findings along with the Human Rights Council decision to look further at its conclusions and recommendations.
	However our primary focus at the UN at present is to promote the practical implementation of UN HRC Resolution 16/18 and its successor resolutions, which represent an inter-governmental consensus, to ensure that tangible steps are taken to combat intolerance on the grounds of religion or belief. We also fully support HRC Resolution 16/13 and its successor resolutions on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of religion or belief, and lobby to strengthen support for them.

Religious Freedom

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will convene an expert group to consider the issues involved in initiating a process to consider an international convention on freedom of religion or belief.

David Lidington: The Government acknowledge the arguments in favour of an international convention on freedom of religion or belief, but we do not think such a convention is negotiable in the current international climate.
	We believe that our resources are better targeted on practical initiatives aimed at making a difference for people who are suffering discrimination and violence because of their religion or belief. And at the international level our focus is maintaining the fragile consensus on freedom of religion or belief expressed in UN Human Rights Council Resolution 16/13 and its successor resolutions, led by the EU, and our efforts to promote practical implementation of UN Human Rights Council Resolution 16/18 on combating intolerance and discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief.

Religious Freedom

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the UN to ensure that funding is provided to support a paid, full-time Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief and resource their office.

David Lidington: We fully support the work of the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief. However UN human rights Special Rapporteurs are not full-time appointments, nor do they receive a wage. This allows the UN to draw upon a broader range of human rights expertise. Making representations in favour of a full-time paid Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief would entail a wholesale re-negotiation of the role and function of Special Rapporteurs which the Government do not think would be a profitable exercise.

Sick Leave

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many days on average staff of his Department in each pay grade were absent from work as a result of ill health in each of the last 12 months.

Alistair Burt: The average number of days staff in each pay grade were absent from work in each of the last 12 months (financial year) is as follows:
	
		
			 Grade April 2012 May 2012 June 2012 July 2012 August 2012 September 2012 
			 A1 0.94 0.18 0.67 0.53 0.12 0.60 
			 A2 0.49 0.58 0.55 0.60 0.50 0.44 
			 B3 0.29 0.28 0.24 0.29 .0.32 0.28 
			 C4 0.22 0.26 0.25 0.21 0.14 0.12 
			 C5 0.15 0.23 0.14 0.13 0.15 0.11 
			 D6 0.11 0.11 0.10 0.10 0.17 0.11 
			 D7 0.04 0.10 0.24 0.21 0.24 0.07 
			 SMS 0.08 0.06 0.03 0.01 0.01 0.05 
		
	
	
		
			 Grade October 2012 November 2012 December 2012 January 2013 February 2013 March 2013 
			 A1 0.76 1.06 0.66 0.68 0.41 0.48 
			 A2 0.62 1.07 0.47 0.94 0.69 0.66 
			 B3 0.57 0.47 0.24 0.72 0.22 0.73 
			 C4 0.15 0.18 0.17 0.55 0.14 0.15 
			 C5 0.15 0.26 0.14 0.65 0.38 0.29 
			 D6 0.14 0.15 0.08 0.50 0.26 0.14 
			 D7 0.13 0.11 0.12 0.54 0.17 0.23 
			 SMS 0.05 0.40 0.09 0.05 0.01 0.08 
		
	
	The above figures represent only FCO UK-based staff (around 4,800) who work either in the UK or in one of our missions abroad. They do not include locally—engaged or FCO Services staff.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has robust measures in place to monitor sick absence. Our absence rate has reduced since 2008. All long-term absences are actively managed by our Health and Welfare Team, working alongside staff, their line managers, Occupational Health and Disability Support Teams. The FCO also offers staff access to an Employee Assistance programme (EAP) under a DEFRA-sponsored cross Government framework.
	We report sick absence to the FCO Board and to the Cabinet Office and continue to investigate any fluctuation in absence rates. The FCO continues to have a lower annual working days lost (AWDL) figure compared to the civil service average.
	The total number of working days lost through short and long-term sick absence, certified and uncertified for the financial years 2010-11 and 2011-12, are published in the FCO annual departmental report (HC59). Figures for 2012-13 will be published in the very near future.
	The FCO HR system records the total number of sick days a member of staff has taken for a particular period of absence against the month they have returned to work. This will occasionally produce a higher than average number of days of sickness in a particular month if a member of staff returns from a period of sickness that spans two or more months. To separate these absences out would incur disproportionate costs.

Staff

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department spent on (a) recruitment agency fees, (b) outplacement agency fees for displaced or redundant staff and (c) staff training in each of the last 12 months.

Alistair Burt: The information is as follows:
	(a) The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) uses recruitment agencies to attract a wide range of applicants to ensure its work force is as diverse and highly skilled as possible. For specialist recruitment campaigns, agencies are better placed to target applicants with the most relevant skills within that sector. A competitive tendering process is run to select an agency for external recruitment campaigns. This has proven to be more cost-effective than in-house recruitment. FCO officials are currently collating the information spent by the Department on recruitment agency fees. I will write to my hon. Friend when the data are available and a copy will be placed in the Library of the House.
	(b) The FCO has not spent any money on outplacement agency fees for displaced or redundant staff.
	(c) The amount spent on staff training in the last Financial year was:
	
		
			  £ 
			 April 2012 758,822.86 
			 May 2012 954,906.14 
			 June 2012 1,067,068.34 
			 July 2012 585,440.09 
			 August 2012 453,872.43 
			 September 2012 521,210.76 
			 October 2012 1,242,777.82 
			 November 2012 904,379.57 
			 December 2012 965,292.75 
			 January 2013 747,806.35 
			 February 2013 1,457,651.69 
			 March 2013 2,161,569.44 
			 Total 11,820,798.24

Syria

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the implications of the EU Common Position 2008/944/CFSP on the control of arms exports by EU Member States on the potential transfer of lethal military support to the Syrian National Coalition.

William Hague: The 27 May Foreign Affairs Council agreed to end the EU arms embargo on Syria and return decisions on arms provisions to member states. They also agreed a common framework for those who, in the future, may decide to supply Syria with military equipment, including clear safeguards to ensure that any such equipment would be supplied only for the protection of civilians, and in accordance with international law. The UK's position remains as set out by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister in the House on 3 June 2013, Official Report,, column 1233-4, no decision has been made to send arms to the Syrian opposition.

Syria

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what meetings he has had with representatives of the Syrian National Coalition where the issue of lethal military support has been discussed.

William Hague: I last met the Syrian National Coalition leadership on 22 May in Amman during a ministerial meeting of the Core Group of the Friends of the Syrian People. The National Coalition has called for the international community to provide military support to the Free Syrian Army since its formation in November 2012.
	The UK position remains as set out by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister in his statement to the House on 3 June 2013, Official Report, column 1233-4, in that the UK has not made any decision to send arms to the Syrian National Coalition.

Turkey

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to his Turkish Government counterpart on the continued imprisonment without conviction of 46 Kurdish lawyers.

David Lidington: The British Government have not made representations to the Turkish Government on this case. It is not usual Government practice to intervene in the judicial processes of another sovereign country, but we expect Turkey to uphold legal and judicial standards that are in line with international standards. Our embassy in Ankara will continue to monitor the situation closely.
	Freedom of expression and access to fair trials are fundamental rights which we expect to be upheld in democratic societies. The UK plays an integral part in delivering the EU human rights strategy in Turkey and we agreed and supported the EU's Annual Progress Report on Turkey which covers a wide range of issues, including human rights and the judiciary. We and our EU partners will continue to raise these issues with Turkey. I raised human rights with Egemen Bagis, (Turkish Minister of European Affairs) during a meeting in February.

Turkey

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of whether Turkey's EU accession process can progress without a peaceful settlement of the Kurdish conflict in that country.

David Lidington: In 2003, when Turkey was accepted as an EU candidate, the EU Commission highlighted that Turkey needed to do more on the Kurdish issue to make progress on its EU aspirations. The UK Government agreed with this position.
	We welcome the progress being made towards a peaceful settlement, including the positive moves made by the Turkish Government and Prime Minister Erdogan in starting a dialogue process with the PKK and delivering key human rights reforms. The implementation of recently adopted judicial reform packages and constitutional reform, driven in part by Turkey's EU accession process, provides the best opportunity to address the Kurdish problem and the broader human rights situation in Turkey. The UK will continue to support progress in these areas which remain important for Turkey's EU accession process.

Turkey

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the accession of Turkey to the EU.

David Lidington: Her Majesty's Government continue to be a strong supporter of Turkey's EU accession. The decision of the General Affairs Council on 25 June to open Chapter 22 (Regional Policy) “in principle” was constructive and welcome. The EU accession process remains a key driver for reform in Turkey. The Government believe that it is in the interests of the whole of Europe to see political, judicial and economic progress on accession continue.

Vacancies

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his Department's vacancy rate was in 2012-13; and what vacancy rate has been assumed for 2013-14.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not record a staff vacancy rate. Staff turnover rate, which monitors the pace at which staff leave the Department as a proportion of the average total number of staff in the Department, is used for workforce planning purposes, and is expressed as an annual percentage rate. The staff turnover rate for FY 2012-13 was 4.2%, excluding voluntary redundancies. We forecast a slightly higher turnover rate in FY 2013-14, as we strengthen measures to meet our planned reduction in UK-based staff headcount of 10% over the SR2010-15 period.

Yemen

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions (a) he and (b) Ministers of his Department have had with the Yemeni Minister for Expatriate Affairs; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has had no recent discussions with Mujahed Al-Qohali, Yemeni Minister for Expatriate Affairs.
	I met with Minister Al-Qohali on 24 June 2013. Minister Al-Qohali spoke about the current challenges facing Yemen and the bilateral relationship.
	No other Ministers of this Department have had any recent discussions with the Yemeni Minister for Expatriate Affairs.

TREASURY

EU Grants and Loans

Martin Horwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the value was of loans that have been signed off for projects in the UK by the European Investment Bank (a) in total since 2009, (b) in each year since 2009, (c) in total in each NUTS 1 region since 2009 and (d) in total in each NUTS 1 region in each year since 2009.

Greg Clark: This report is provided in the European Investment Bank’s (EIB) statistical report, available on the EIB’s website:
	http://www.eib.org/index.htm

Fuels: Tax Evasion

Lady Hermon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to visit HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) officials in Northern Ireland to discuss improvements in HMRC's efforts to tackle fuel laundering and related crimes; and if he will make a statement.

Sajid Javid: HM Treasury and its Ministers consider potential visits to destinations across the United Kingdom on an ongoing basis.

Ministerial Policy Advisers

John Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many advisers who had previously worked at (a) British Gas, (b) EDF, (c) npower, (d) Scottish Power, (e) SSE and (f) E.ON have been engaged by his Department in each year since 2010.

Sajid Javid: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate costs.

MITIE Group

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spends on contracts with MITIE; and how much was spent on contracts with MITIE in each year since 2008.

Sajid Javid: Since January 2011, central Government Departments have been required to publish on Contracts Finder information on the contracts they award:
	www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/
	In addition, Departments publish details of spend in excess of £25,000.
	HM Treasury do not currently hold any contracts with MITIE.
	HM Treasury spend with MITIE since 2008, as shown in the following table:
	
		
			 £(1) 
			 2008 1,154,964.31 
			 2009 1,142,949.66 
			 2010 1,067,163.56 
			 2011 35,250.00 
			 2012 0 
			 (1) Including VAT

Mobile Phones

Mike Freer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which companies supply (a) mobile telephones and (b) mobile data services to his Department.

Sajid Javid: HM Treasury has a single contract in place with Vodafone for the provision of mobile services.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Jack Dromey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  pursuant to the oral answer from the Prime Minister to the hon. Member for Feltham and Heston of 12 June 2013, Official Report, columns 335-6, what mechanism will be put in place to stop people using the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme to purchase a second home;
	(2)  whether the mechanism to prevent people using the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme to purchase a second home will be in place on the day the scheme launches.

Sajid Javid: The intention of the Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee scheme is clear: to help first-time buyers and families moving to meet their needs. For that reason, as with the Help to Buy: equity loan, the Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee will only be available for a purchaser's sole property. Lenders will need to collect a borrower declaration as part of the mortgage application. The scheme is expected to go live in January 2014.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Clive Betts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will make it his policy that there should be a role for the private mortgage insurance industry in the Government's Help to Buy scheme;
	(2)  whether he has undertaken a comparative assessment of the costs of the guarantees offered under the Help to Buy scheme and schemes operating in other countries which are guaranteed by private insurance;
	(3)  whether he has estimated potential savings to the public purse through involving the private mortgage insurance industry in the Help to Buy scheme;
	(4)  what account he has taken of the views of the International Monetary Fund, the G20 and the Joint Forum of the Basel Committee on the benefits of using private mortgage insurance in relation to high loan-to-value lending;
	(5)  whether he has undertaken an assessment of potential conflict between state aid rules and the Help to Buy scheme due to unfair competition with the private mortgage insurance industry.

Sajid Javid: HM Treasury has received a number of proposals for Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee from interested parties, including private mortgage insurers, and the Department reviews each one carefully. The Government will continue to work with industry on the guarantee as set out in the scheme design document published alongside the Budget.
	When using the Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee scheme, lenders will need to pay the Government a commercial fee for each mortgage guaranteed under the scheme. This fee will be set so that the scheme is self-financing, in line with European Commission guidance, and will therefore be set on a commercial basis.
	Further details on the scheme will be announced later this year.

Press: Subscriptions

Mike Freer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spent on newspapers, periodicals and trade publications in the last 12 months.

Sajid Javid: During financial year 2012-13 the Department spent £50,557 on newspapers, periodicals and trade publications.

Revenue and Customs: Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many times he has met HM Revenue and Customs officials in Northern Ireland since May 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Sajid Javid: Treasury Ministers and officials engage with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Governments practice to release details of all such meetings.

Serco

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department currently spends on contracts with Serco; and how much was spent in each year since 2008.

Sajid Javid: Since January 2011, central Government Departments have been required to publish on Contracts Finder information on the contracts they award:
	www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/
	In addition, Departments publish details of spend in excess of £25,000.
	HM Treasury do not currently hold any contracts with Serco Group plc.
	HM Treasury spend with Serco Group plc since 2008:
	
		
			 Financial year £(1) 
			 2008-09 0 
			 2009-10 75 
			 2010-11 0 
			 2011-12 0 
			 2012-13 0 
			 (1) Excluding VAT.

Sick Leave

Mike Freer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many days on average staff of his Department in each pay grade were absent from work as a result of ill health in each of the last 12 months.

Sajid Javid: HM Treasury do not keep information on a monthly basis and to supply this data it would be at a disproportionate cost. We do however collate data on an annual rolling average and have attached these table as follows:
	
		
			 HM Treasury April 2012 to March 2013 January 2012 to December 2012 October 2011 to September 2012 July 2011 to June 2012 
			 Grade AWDL AWDL AWDL AWDL 
			 B 9.8 9.8 11.O 13.0 
			 C 7.4 7.5 7.0 6.6 
			 D 2.8 2.9 2.7 2.8 
			 E 3.0 2.9 2.5 2.9 
			 SCS 2.3 3.0 4.3 4.5 
			 Commercial specialist 7.6 7.9 5.6 3.1 
			 All grades 4.1 4.2 4.0 4.3

Social Security Benefits

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people would be excluded from paying income tax if the annual personal allowance threshold were to be increased to £12,000 in 2014.

David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs estimates that around 2.5 million people would be taken out of income tax if the personal allowance were to be increased to £12,000 in 2014-15.
	This estimate is based on the 2010-11 Survey of Personal Incomes, projected to 2014-15 using economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility's March 2013 economic and fiscal outlook.
	The estimated cost to the Exchequer of making such a change is over £10 billion in 2014-15. This assumes that the basic rate limit is reduced by £2,000 to ensure the higher-rate threshold rises by no more than 1% each year, in line with the Government's announcement at autumn statement 2012.

Staff

Mike Freer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spent on (a) recruitment agency fees, (b) outplacement agency fees for displaced or redundant staff and (c) staff training in each of the last 12 months.

Sajid Javid: The Department’s accounting system does not separately identify the recruitment agency fee element of an invoice, and this information could not be extracted within the disproportionate cost threshold.
	Spending on outplacement agency fees for displaced or redundant staff and staff training in each of the last 12 months can be found in the following table:
	
		
			 £ 
			 Last 12 months to 31 May 2013 Outplacement agency fees Staff training 
			 June 2012 432 64,732 
			 July 2012 432 49,177 
			 August 2012  40,400 
			 September 2012 792 48,051 
			 October 2012 1,728 71,350 
			 November 2012 144 62,636 
			 December 2012  27,898 
			 January 2013 28 32,593 
		
	
	
		
			 February 2013 1,152 73,370 
			 March 2013 864 104,963 
			 April 2013 144 40,367 
			 May 2013 288 35,440 
		
	
	Total spend on learning and development in the Department has reduced over the last four financial years as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2009-10 2,252,064 
			 2010-11 1,157,750 
			 2011-12 801,541 
			 2012-13 772,795

Tax Burden: Retail Trade

Ann McKechin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the tax burden on high street retailers in comparison to retailers which operate wholly or partially on the internet.

David Gauke: The breakdown of tax receipts requested is not available. Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs produces a breakdown by broad industrial sector for corporation tax, pay-as-you-earn income tax and class 1 national insurance contributions (NICs) and value added tax (VAT). The latest update is available here:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics
	Data are not available which distinguishes between high street retailers and those which operate partially or wholly on the internet.

UK Membership of EU

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of the economic benefit of UK membership of the EU.

Greg Clark: The Government have made no such estimate.

Vacancies

Mike Freer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his Department's vacancy rate was in 2012-13; and what vacancy rate has been assumed for 2013-14.

Sajid Javid: The vacancy rate for HM Treasury at 31 March 2013 was 6.1% HM Treasury does not have an assumed rate for 2013-14.

VAT: Community Interest Companies

Jesse Norman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the effect of VAT liability on community interest companies delivering social care services on behalf of public authorities;
	(2)  how many community interest companies have registered for VAT in each of the last five years for which data is available.

David Gauke: No assessment has been made of the effect of VAT liability on community interest companies delivering social care services on behalf of public authorities.
	There is no data available to identify Community Interest Company VAT registrations.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Billing

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average cost to his Department was of processing the payment of an invoice in the latest period for which figures are available; and what proportion of invoices settled in that period his Department paid (a) electronically and (b) by cheque.

Mark Hoban: The 12/13 direct processing costs (per invoice) were as follows:
	1. Process invoice received electronically: £ 1.12
	2. Process invoice received manually: £ 3.05.
	100% of invoices received were paid electronically via direct payment.
	For clarity, cheque production ceased on 31 March 2012.

Employment and Support Allowance

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people who are refused employment and support allowance make a second claim within (a) six months and (b) one year.

Mark Hoban: The information is not readily available and has not previously been published as official statistics. We will consider whether it is feasible to produce the statistics requested within the disproportionate cost limit, and if so, will issue them in an official statistics release in accordance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

Employment Schemes: Young People

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the reasons are for the time taken to publish Youth Contract performance data for 18 to 24 year olds; and when he expects the first such data to be published.

Mark Hoban: Data on work experience and sector-based work academies are published as part of the regular Official Statistics available on:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions/series/pre-work-programme-and-get-britain-working#publications#
	The statistics that first covered the introduction of Youth Contract were published in August 2012.
	On 24 June the Department announced that the first set of experimental statistics on wage incentive payments will be published on 22 July. The Department has been working to guidelines set by the UK Statistics Authority to ensure we publish statistics that meet high-quality standards at the earliest opportunity.

Legal Costs

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department spent on external lawyers' fees in the last year for which figures are available.

Mark Hoban: The Department for Work and Pensions spent £3,944,070.35 on external lawyers’ fees in the 2012/13 financial year.

MITIE Group

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department spends on contracts with MITIE; and how much was spent on contracts with MITIE in each year since 2008.

Mark Hoban: In 1998 the Department entered into a 20-year PFI contract with Telereal Trillium (TT) for the provision of fully serviced accommodation which they (TT) deliver through Service Partners. MITIE is one of TT's Service Providers.
	As the Department does not directly contract with MITIE there is no spend information.

Mobile Phones

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which companies supply (a) mobile telephones and (b) mobile data services to his Department.

Mark Hoban: DWP acquires mobile telephony and mobile data services from BT as part of a wider range of telephony and network services provided under the terms of the ICONS (Integrated Communications and Network Services) contract.
	From 1 October 2010 BT subcontracted to Vodafone for the provision of mobile telephony services and they currently provide the majority of mobile telephones and mobile data services to the DWP (although Orange are also sub-contracted to provide a very small element of both where there are issues with Vodaphone network reception).
	This sub-contracting arrangement is used to enable DWP to access central Government tariffs that were the subject of an agreement between Cabinet Office and Vodafone.

Press: Subscriptions

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department spent on newspapers, periodicals and trade publications in the last 12 months.

Mark Hoban: In the 12 months to 31 May, the Department spent £15,404.74 on newspapers and £47,134.52 on periodicals, including trade publications.

Public Expenditure

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the Statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 26 June 2013, Official Report, column 314, on Spending Review, in which of his Department's under-performing programmes he plans to make expenditure reductions as a consequence of the Spending Review.

Mark Hoban: The Department continually assesses the performance of programmes to ensure that the best possible value for money is received and they meet the standards required. Evaluations will be undertaken to inform the Department’s decisions on expenditure reductions.

Serco

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department currently spends on contracts with Serco; and how much was spent in each year since 2008.

Mark Hoban: The Department for Work and Pensions annual spend on contracts with Serco in each year since 2008/09 is shown in the following table, the 2013-14 value covers only April and May, the latest available figures.
	
		
			 Supplier: Serco Group Plc 
			  Spend (£) 
			 2008-09 1,585,698 
			 2009-10 37,508,504 
			 2010-11 73,458,641 
			 2011-12 26,320,494 
			 2012-13 45,457,786 
			 2013-14 (April to May) 12,111,877

Sick Leave

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many days on average staff of his Department in each pay grade were absent from work as a result of ill health in each of the last 12 months.

Mark Hoban: In accordance with cross-Government arrangements, the Department reports sickness absence based on annual, not monthly, data. These are expressed as average working days lost (AWDL) per employee per year. Monthly data are not consistent because of seasonal variations.
	The Department is committed to reducing sickness absence and has made significant improvements in recent years. We have cut absence rates for the total work force from a peak of 11.1 average days lost in March 2007 to 7.4 average working days lost overall.
	The following table shows the latest average working days lost (AWDL) in each pay grade for March 2013:
	
		
			 Grade Average working days lost (AWDL) Percentage working days lost 
			 Administrative Assistant 8.0 3.5 
		
	
	
		
			 Administrative Officer 8.9 4.0 
			 Executive Officer 6.7 3.0 
			 Higher Executive Officer 4.6 2.1 
			 Senior Executive Officer 3.7 1.6 
			 Grade 7 2.9 1.3 
			 Grade 6 2.0 0.9 
			 Senior Civil Service 3.0 1.3

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what restrictions apply to the use of translators in social security fraud investigations; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: The restrictions that apply to the use of translators/interpreters in social security fraud investigations are:
	The translator/interpreter must be independent of both the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the interviewee (and the police when the interview follows an arrest). Friends, relatives or colleagues of the interviewee cannot be used.
	A translator/interpreter must be qualified to this minimum standard:
	(a) A diploma in Public Service Interpreting (DPSI) in the languages where it is offered for examination, or
	(b) a degree level language qualification with an interpreting component, or
	(c) a pass of the Metropolitan Police Test (post 1997), or
	(d) equivalent Level 4/5 National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) in Interpreting Standards or
	(e) membership of a professional body e.g. IOL or the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI).
	The translator/interpreter's role is confined to translating the fraud- interviewer's questions and the interviewee's answers. The translator/interpreter should not provide legal advice.
	Every translator/interpreter working in the criminal justice system should be registered with the National Register of Public Service Interpreters (NRPSI—the National Register) or the Council for the Advancement of Communication with Deaf People (CACDP) Directory of British Sign Language/English Interpreters.
	Translators/interpreters must be able to demonstrate language skills and an understanding of, and ability to adhere to, the role of translator/interpreter.

Social Security Benefits: Cancer

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the total level of financial support a cancer sufferer would receive over a 12 month period if they were (a) employed and (b) unemployed and claiming out of work benefits at the time when treatment rendered them unable to work.

Mark Hoban: The Government are committed to giving cancer suffers the support they need. There are a range of benefits available to cancer patients, and support will vary dependent on individual financial circumstances. For those who continue to be employed working tax credit, housing benefit and disability living allowance or personal independence payments may be available. Where cancer suffers are unable to work, employment and support allowance, housing benefit and disability living allowance or personal independence payments may be available. Disability benefits are not paid because of the condition itself, but the effects it has on capability to work, and care and mobility needs.

Social Security Benefits: Cancer

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his policy is on whether those receiving treatment for cancer and who are unable to work should be placed directly into the employment and support allowance support group after they stop receiving statutory sick pay.

Mark Hoban: As of 28 January 2013 we expanded the categories of cancer treatments under which a claimant may be treated as having limited capability for work-related activity under the Work Capability Assessment to now include individuals who are: awaiting, receiving or recovering from treatment by way of chemotherapy irrespective of route; or awaiting, receiving or recovering from radiotherapy.
	The changes will make it easier for people with cancer to get the appropriate support they require through the welfare benefit system without the need for a face to face assessment and see hundreds more people placed in the employment and support allowance support group.
	The process is supported by a ‘light touch’ evidence gathering process, designed to ease the process for cancer patients.

Social Security Benefits: Northern Ireland

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much it will cost to introduce mandatory language lessons for benefits claimants in Northern Ireland.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what account he took of the legacy of the Troubles in Northern Ireland when developing his planned changes to the welfare system.

Mark Hoban: Northern Ireland is responsible for its own social security system and the Northern Ireland Assembly is currently considering a separate Northern Ireland Welfare Reform Bill. These questions should, therefore, be addressed to the Minister for Social Development in the Northern Ireland Executive.

Unemployment Benefits

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate he has made of the number of people who have come off the main unemployment benefits since May 2010.

Mark Hoban: The number of people claiming the main out-of-work benefits has fallen by over 300,000 since May 2010. This covers lone parents on income support, those on incapacity benefits and unemployed people claiming jobseeker's allowance.

Vacancies

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his Department's vacancy rate was in 2012-13; and what vacancy rate has been assumed for 2013-14.

Mark Hoban: The Department has a reducing headcount profile and a freeze on recruitment that has been in place in the Department since May 2010. All external recruitment is authorised only in exceptional circumstances and is subject to ministerial approval. All exceptions made to the freeze are also reported to Ministers on a monthly basis.
	The Department does not record a staff vacancy rate. Staff turnover rate is used as a key measure in workforce planning.
	The turnover rate is used to monitor the pace at which staff leave as a proportion of the total number of staff in the Department. At a time of reducing headcount not all leavers will be replaced and hence turnover is a lesser approximation to vacancy rate than at times of relative workforce stability. Turnover is expressed as an annual percentage rate.
	In May 2013 the annual departmental turnover rate for permanent staff was 4.5%. This rate excludes a small number of staff on fixed term contracts. Our current planning assumption for 2013/14 is for the rate to remain at around 4.5%.

Vacancies: Thirsk

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the latest number of job vacancies were in Thirsk and Malton constituency.

Mark Hoban: Based on the jobs advertised on the Universal Jobmatch service, the number of live job vacancies as at 27 June 2013 in the Thirsk and Malton parliamentary constituency was 68.

Welfare State: Reform

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to correct the under-performance of his Department's programmes identified by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his Statement of 26 June 2013, Official Report, column 314.

Mark Hoban: The Department continually assesses the value for money and performance of programmes to ensure that they meet the standards required and that the best possible value for money is received from all programmes and activity.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Broadband

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much her Department has spent on increasing broadband infrastructure in (a) Glasgow, (b) each other city in Scotland and (c) each other city in the UK since May 2010.

Edward Vaizey: Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Perth have been successful in bidding for funding from the £150 million Super Connected Cities Programme. Following discussions with the European Commission, the Government has amended the scope of the projects to be supported through the programme and asked cities to provide revised plans by 21 May. The Government has reviewed the plans and will be writing to all the cities shortly.
	Glasgow was not successful in its bid for funding from the Super Connected Cities Programme but parts of the city will be eligible for coverage by the project to provide superfast broad band in Scotland excluding the Highlands and Islands that will be managed by the Scottish Government and which will have approximately £50 million of funding from the UK Government's rural broadband programme.

Football

Jesse Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent assessment she has made of the role of supporters' trusts in improving governance of football clubs.

Hugh Robertson: Supporters’ trusts can play an important role in the governance of football clubs, which I saw for myself whilst visiting Portsmouth FC recently. Over 120 Supporters Trusts are now in operation: I welcome both their inclusion in their club governance structures, and the role of the Supporters Trust in guiding their formation.

Members: Correspondence

Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when the Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries intends to reply to the letters from the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed of 31 August, 8 October and 28 November 2012 and 15 April 2013 on the procurement process and gaps in mobile telephone coverage at a sub-county level.

Edward Vaizey: I understand that officials replied in September 2012 and have also sent a duplicate response on 2 July 2013, receipt of which the right hon. Gentleman's office has acknowledged.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she plans to reply to the letter to the Minister for Sport dated 16 May 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr Richard Belshaw.

Edward Vaizey: I can confirm that the response, to the letter from the right hon. Member regarding Mr Richard Belshaw, was sent on 2 July 2013.

Public Expenditure

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the equality impact of her Department's spending reductions since 2010; whether this assessment has been used to inform her planning ahead of the 2013 Comprehensive Spending Review and with what result; what plans she has to publish the equality impact assessments undertaken by her Department as a result of the upcoming Comprehensive Spending Review; and if she will make a statement.

Maria Miller: DCMS, which includes the Government Equalities Office, considers equality issues in exercising its functions, including in setting priorities within its budget, in order to comply with equality legislation and to ensure it understands how its activities will affect specific groups in society. The Department's overall spending round submission was informed by its own equality analysis and by the SR equalities assessment commissioned by HMT. This Government has been clear that producing formal equality impact assessment documents is not required in order to ensure compliance with the legal responsibility to consider equality impacts.

Public Lending Right

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she expects to bring forward legislative proposals to extend public lending right to remote lending of e-books, subject to compliance with the EU Copyright Directive; and what estimate she has made of the cost to her Department of extending the public lending right.

Edward Vaizey: As explained in the Government Response to William Sieghart's e-lending review weblink:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/an-independent-review-of-e-lending-in-public-libraries-in-england
	any amendment the Government would seek to pursue in future to extend the Public Lending Right (PLR) scheme to incorporate remote lending is subject to considering whether that would be compatible with the Copyright Directive and this matter is under consideration.
	On 26 June 2013, HM Treasury announced that in response to William Sieghart's recommendation that PLR be extended by commencing the provisions of the Digital Economy Act 2010, the Government will consult on plans to extend the PLR scheme to cover onsite loans of e-books and audiobooks, with loans data to be collected from July 2014:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/spending-round-2013-documents

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Legal Costs

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities 
	(1)  what the highest day rate paid for external legal advice by the Government Equalities Office since 7 May 2010 was;
	(2)  what the 20 highest amounts paid for external legal advice by the Government Equalities Office were in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012; to whom such payments were paid; and for what reasons the legal advice was sought;
	(3)  how much the Government Equalities Office spent on external legal advice from Queen's Counsel (a) between 7 May 2010 and 4 September 2012 and (b) since 4 September 2012;
	(4)  how much the Government Equalities Office spent on external legal advice (a) between 7 May 2010 and 4 September 2012 and (b) since 4 September 2012.

Helen Grant: The Government Equalities Office has not made any payments for external legal advice.

Public Expenditure

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what assessment she has made of the equality impact of the Government Equalities Office spending reductions since 2010; whether this assessment has been used to inform her planning ahead of the 2013 Comprehensive Spending Review and with what result; what plans she has to publish the equality impact assessments undertaken by her Department as a result of the upcoming Comprehensive Spending Review; and if she will make a statement.

Maria Miller: The Government Equalities Office, which is part of DCMS, considers equality issues in exercising its functions, including in setting priorities within its budget, in order to comply with equality legislation and to ensure it understands how its activities will affect specific groups in society. The Department's overall Spending Round submission was informed by its own equality analysis and by the SR equalities assessment commissioned by HMT. This Government has been clear that producing formal Equality Impact Assessment documents is not required in order to ensure compliance with the legal responsibility to consider equality impacts.

DEFENCE

MITIE Group

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spends on contracts with MITIE; and how much was spent on contracts with MITIE in each year since 2008.

Andrew Murrison: Expenditure on Ministry of Defence (MOD) contracts with MITIE is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Financial year Expenditure (£ million) 
			 2008-09 9.6 
			 2009-10 9.7 
			 2010-11 8.2 
			 2011-12 9.1 
			 2012-13 4.9 
			 2013-14 (to 26 June 2013) 0.072 
		
	
	These figures include expenditure by MOD trading funds, but do not include payments which may have been made on behalf of other Government Departments, by the MOD'S executive non-departmental public bodies (which lie outside the MOD'S accounting boundary), locally by the Department, through third parties such as prime contractors or other Government Departments and in relation to collaborative projects where the payments are made through international procurement agencies or overseas governments. Payments made by Government Procurement Card are also not included.
	Since January 2011, central Government Departments have been required to publish information on the contracts they award at:
	www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/
	In addition, Departments publish details of spend in excess of £25,000.

CABINET OFFICE

Billing

Mike Freer: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the average cost to his Department was of processing the payment of an invoice in the latest period for which figures are available; and what proportion of invoices settled in that period his Department paid (a) electronically and (b) by cheque.

Chloe Smith: All invoice processing functions for the Cabinet Office are outsourced to DWP Shared Services.
	The 12/13 direct processing costs (per invoice) for DWP shared services customers were as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			 Process invoice received electronically 1.12 
			 Process invoice received manually 3.05 
		
	
	The proportion of invoices paid by DWP shared services (a) electronically is 100% and (b) by cheque is nil.

MITIE Group

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much his Department spends on contracts with MITIE; and how much was spent on contracts with MITIE in each year since 2008.

Francis Maude: The Cabinet Office have spent the paid the following amounts to MITIE:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2009-10 232,476.08 
			 2010-11 485,528.67 
		
	
	Since 2011, details of contracts above the value of £10,000 have been published on the Contracts Finder website:
	http://www.contractsfinder.co.uk
	In addition, this policy extends to Cabinet Office expenditure over £25,000, which is published at:
	www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-spend-data
	Records before 2009-10 are now archived on a legacy accounting system; it is not possible to provide the amount paid to Serco prior to 2009-10 without incurring disproportionate costs.

Serco

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  how much No. 10 Downing Street currently spends on contracts with Serco; and how much was spent in each year since 2008;
	(2)  how much his Department currently spends on contracts with Serco; and how much was spent in each year since 2008.

Francis Maude: The Prime Minister's Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office and as such the figures in the following table are for the whole of the Cabinet Office including the Prime Minister's Office.
	Since 2011, details of contracts above the value of £10,000 have been published on the Contracts Finder website:
	http://www.contractsfinder.co.uk
	In addition, this policy extends to Cabinet Office expenditure over £25,000, which is published at:
	www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-spend-data
	Records before 2009-10 are now archived on a legacy accounting system; it is not possible to provide the amount paid to Serco prior to 2009-10 without incurring disproportionate costs.
	The spend on Serco contracts for the years not covered on the transparency websites is as follows:
	
		
			  Spend (£) 
			 2009-10 7,967.15 
			 2010-11 148,215.64

Staff

Mike Freer: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much his Department spent on (a) recruitment agency fees, (b) outplacement agency fees for displaced or redundant staff and (c) staff training in each of the last 12 months.

Francis Maude: The Cabinet Office spent £229,824 on recruitment agency fees for posts recruited from July 2012 to June 2013.
	Since 2011, details of Cabinet Office expenditure over £25,000 is published at:
	www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-spend-data
	At present this covers expenditure up to and including March 2013. Data for April and May 2013 are to be published shortly.
	The Cabinet Office does not hold a central record of outplacement agency fees, nor does it hold a central of staff training costs.

Travel: Scotland

Margaret Curran: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many journeys from the UK to overseas destinations began in Scotland in each of the last 10 years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, July 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to respond to your Parliamentary Question to the Minister for the Cabinet Office asking how many international visits from the UK to overseas destinations began in Scotland in each of the last 10 years [163051].
	The International Passenger Survey collects information about international visits by UK residents on their return to the UK. I am able to report estimated visits to overseas destinations made by UK residents returning to the UK via Scotland. These estimates can be found in Table 5.07 of the annual ‘Travel Trends’ publication for each year from 2002 to 2012 at:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/ott/travel-trends/index.html
	Estimates of the number of UK residents returning from international visits via Scotland for the last 4 years (2009 to 2012) are provided in the accompanying spreadsheet. Estimates for earlier years are available at:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/ott/travel-trends/index.html
	However, changes to the International Passenger Survey (IPS) methodology and survey design in 2009 caused some discontinuity in the survey results and any comparisons of IPS results for 2009 onwards with earlier years (and especially those of a UK regional nature) should be made with care. Details of the changes made to the survey design can be found in Appendix C of Travel Trends 2012:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/ott/travel-trends/2012/rpt-travel-trends--2012.html#tab-Appendix-C--The-IPS-Methodology-and-coverage
	A copy of the tables has been placed in the Library of the House.

EDUCATION

Class Sizes

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education in which local education authorities (a) primary and (b) secondary school class sizes have risen since May 2010, by size of increase; and if he will make a statement.

David Laws: A table showing average class sizes in primary and secondary schools in each local authority in January 2013 has been placed in the House Library.
	Data on class sizes in state-funded primary and secondary schools for January 2010 are available at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2010
	The relevant information is contained within table 14a for primary schools and 14c for secondary schools, within the link ‘Local Authority Tables SFR09/2010’.
	The School Standards and Framework Act 1998 limits the size of an infant class to 30 pupils per school teacher. Additional children may be admitted in exceptional circumstances—for example, looked after children or children of UK service personnel. Classes often reduce to 30 naturally over the subsequent year or two. This Government are spending £5 billion by 2015 on creating new school places, more than double the amount spent by the last government in an equivalent timeframe. This will help reduce the pressure on infant classes.
	We have also opened 81 free schools and approved some 200 more—providing 130,000 extra places in total once full.

Pre-school Education: Closures

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many maintained nurseries have closed in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: Six maintained nursery schools closed in 2010, two maintained nursery schools closed in 2011, and six maintained nursery schools closed in 2012. This compares to the nine that closed in 2009.
	Many maintained primary schools also have nursery classes. In 2010, two maintained primary schools removed nursery classes. No others have been removed since then.
	Over this same period (2010 to 2012) two hew maintained nursery schools have opened, and 99 maintained primary schools have added a nursery unit.

Primary Education: Class Sizes

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children aged (a) five, (b) six and (c) seven were in infant classes of over 30 on (i) 1 May 2010 and (ii) the latest date for which information is available; and if he will make a statement.

David Laws: Information on infant class sizes was published in table 6a of the publication "Schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2013". A copy of this table has been placed in the House Library.
	The School Standards and Framework Act 1998 limits the size of an infant class to 30 pupils per school teacher. Additional children may be admitted in exceptional circumstances—for example, looked after children or children of UK service personnel. We are spending £5 billion by 2015 on creating new school places, more than double the amount spent by the last Government in an equivalent timeframe. This will help reduce the pressure on infant classes.
	We have also opened 81 free schools and approved some 200 more—providing 130,000 extra places in total once full.
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2013

Schools: Buildings

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent estimate he has made of the number of temporary classrooms in each English local education authority.

David Laws: The last Government stopped collecting data on the condition of the school estate in 2005. We believe this decision was flawed, which is why we began collecting up-to-date information on the school estate via the Property Data Survey Programme (PDSP), including the number of temporary classrooms across England.
	The survey phase of the PDSP is scheduled for completion in late July 2013. The data gathered will then be subject to an on-going quality assurance process. Once this has been finalised, the release of Property Data Survey Data will commence, which we currently expect to begin during autumn 2013.

Secondary Education: Coastal Areas

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the most recent Ofsted inspection grades were for each secondary school serving the principal seaside towns of England.

David Laws: This question is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, has written to the hon. Member, and a copy of his response has been placed in the House Library.

Teachers: Pay

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many teachers in England applied for performance-related pay in the latest period for which figures are available; how many of these received such a payment; what proportion of eligible teachers this represents; and if he will make a statement.

David Laws: Under current arrangements, provided in the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document 2012, classroom teachers on the main pay scale progress automatically each year unless their performance is deemed unsatisfactory. In practice, almost all teachers on the main pay scale progress to the next spine point each year.
	In addition, teachers at the top of the main pay scale are able to apply to “cross the threshold”, with successful applicants paid on the upper pay scale. These decisions are made at school level and the Department for Education does not have data on applications to cross the threshold.
	In its 21st Report, the independent School Teachers Review Body (STRB) recommended a stronger link between pay and performance and simpler criteria for access to the upper pay scale. The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), accepted the STRB's recommendations in full and schools will be implementing them from September 2013.

Teachers: Training

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of those entering teacher training schemes had no qualifications at (a) degree and (b) advanced level in each year since 2010.

David Laws: The latest available data, which are published in the initial teacher training (ITT) performance profiles, are for first year trainees who started an ITT programme in England in the academic year 2010/11.
	80% of first-year trainees were on a postgraduate programme. A degree or degree equivalent is an entry requirement for this programme. The Department only holds information on the most advanced qualification held by entrants to the postgraduate programme. This means that figures for how many trainees on the graduate programme had no qualifications at advanced level are not available.
	20% of trainees studied an undergraduate programme, which itself has degree status. 58% of first year trainees on the undergraduate programme had qualifications at A or AS-level; 9% had GNVQ qualifications; 8% had Access qualifications; and 25% had other qualifications such as BTEC National Diplomas and Higher National Diplomas. Data for the academic year 2011/12 will be published in July 2013.
	Entry requirements for undergraduate programmes are set by training providers. We have toughened the ITT entry requirements, so that since 1 September 2012 all applicants to initial teacher training courses have had to pass the professional skills tests in literacy and numeracy before starting the course. We have raised the pass mark to make the tests more rigorous, and candidates are limited to two resits. We have also carried out a fundamental review of the skills tests and new, tougher tests will be introduced from autumn 2013.
	In 2012/13 we introduced a bursary system which awards higher bursaries to trainees with good degrees. Under the new bursary system, ITT candidates holding third class and pass or ordinary degrees are no longer eligible for funding. In the subjects to which it is hardest to recruit teachers we offer: a bursary of £20,000 for trainees with first class degrees; £15,000 for those with upper second class degrees; and £12,000 for those with lower second class degrees. For other subjects we offer: £9,000 for trainees with first class degrees; and £4,000 for trainees with upper second class degrees. This approach will help to raise the status of teaching as a career choice and incentivise the best graduates to become teachers.

Truancy and Pupil Exclusions

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what the change has been in the number of (a) unauthorised absences and (b) exclusions in schools since 2010;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of changes in school (a) truancy and (b) exclusions rates since 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: The available information on unauthorised absence from 2009/10 to 2011/12 and on fixed period and permanent exclusions for 2009/10 and 2010/11 is shown in the following tables.
	The latest data on absence for the school year are published in the ‘Pupil Absence in Schools in England, Including Pupil Characteristics: 2011/12’ Statistical First Release(1).
	The latest data on exclusions are published in the ‘Permanent and fixed-period exclusions from schools in England: academic year 2010 to 2011’ Statistical First Release(2)
	Exclusion information for 2011/12 will be published on 25 July 2013.
	(1)https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england-including-pupil-characteristics
	(2)https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/permanent-and-fixed-period-exclusions-from-schools-in-england-academic-year-2010-to-2011
	
		
			 State-funded primary, state-funded secondary and special schools(1, 2, 3, 4): Pupil absence by type of school 2009/10 to 2011/12—England 
			  2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 
			 Total    
			 Number of pupil enrolments(5) 6,387,685 6,362,835 6,411,085 
			 Sessions missed due to unauthorised absence 19,694,470 20,011,005 18,873,275 
			 Unauthorised absence rate(6) 1.0 1.1 1.0 
			 State-funded primary schools(1, 2)    
			 Number of pupil enrolments(5) 3,374,040 3,392,330 3,453,445 
			 Sessions missed due to unauthorised absence 6,665,410 7,087,005 6,918,630 
			 Unauthorised absence rate(6) 0.7 0.7 0.7 
			 State-funded secondary schools(1, 3)    
			 Number of pupil enrolments(5) 2,934,805 2,911,100 2,878,120 
			 Sessions missed due to unauthorised absence 12,595,745 12,472,735' 11,504,105 
			 Unauthorised absence rate(6) 1.4 1.4 1.3 
			 Special schools(4)    
			 Number of pupil enrolments(5) 78,840 79,405 79,520 
			 Sessions missed due to unauthorised absence 433,315 451,265 450,540 
			 Unauthorised absence rate(6) 2.0 2.0 2.0 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes primary academies, including free schools. (3) Includes city technology colleges and secondary academies, including free schools. (4) Includes maintained special schools, non-maintained special schools and special academies. Excludes, hospital schools, independent special schools and independent schools approved for SEN pupils. (5) Number of pupil enrolments in schools from start of the school year up until the end of the fifth half term. Includes pupils on the school roll for at least one session who are aged between five and 15, excluding boarders. Some pupils may be counted more than once (if they moved schools during the school year or are registered at more than one school). (6) The number of registration sessions missed due to unauthorised absence expressed as a percentage of the total number of possible sessions. There are two registration sessions per day. Totals may not appear to equal the sum of component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest5. Source: School Census 
		
	
	
		
			 State-funded primary, state-funded secondary and special schools1, 2, 3, 4 number of permanent exclusions by type of school England 2009/10 to 2010/11 
			  2009/10 2010/11 
			 Total:   
			 Number of permanent exclusions 5,740 5,080 
			 Percentage of school population(6) 0.08 0.07 
			 State-funded primary schools(1,2)   
			 Number of permanent exclusions 620 610 
			 Percentage of school population(6) 0.02 0.01 
			 State-funded secondary schools(1,3)   
		
	
	
		
			 Number of permanent exclusions 5,020 4,370 
			 Percentage of school population(6) 0.15 0.13 
			 Special schools(4)   
			 Number of permanent exclusions 100 110 
			 Percentage of school population(6) 0.11 0.12 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes primary academies. (3) Includes city technology colleges and academies (including all through academies). (4) Includes maintained special schools and non maintained special schools. Excludes general hospitals, hospital schools. (5) The number of fixed period exclusions expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of all pupils (excluding dually registered pupils) in January each year. Totals may not appear to equal the sum of component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. (6) The number of permanent exclusions expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of all pupils (excluding dually registered pupils) in January each year. Source: School Census 
		
	
	
		
			 State-funded primary, state-funded secondary and special schools1, 2, 3, 4 number of fixed period exclusions by type of school England 2009/10 to 2010/11 
			  2009/10 2010/11 
			 Total:   
			 Number of fixed period exclusions 331,380 324,110 
			 Percentage of school population(5) 4.46 4.34 
			 State-funded primary schools(1,2)   
			 Number of fixed period exclusions 37,210 37,790 
			 Percentage of school population(5) 0.91 0.91 
			 State-funded secondary schools(1,3)   
			 Number of fixed period exclusions 279,260 271,980 
			 Percentage of school population(5) 8.59 8.40 
			 Special schools(4)   
			 Number of fixed period exclusions 14,910 14,340 
			 Percentage of school population(5) 16.46 15.66 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes primary academies. (3) Includes city technology colleges and academies (including all through academies). (4) Includes maintained special schools and non maintained special schools. Excludes general hospitals, hospital schools. (5) The number of fixed period exclusions expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of all pupils (excluding dually registered pupils) in January each year. Totals may not appear to equal the sum of component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Census

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Devolution

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will place in the Library any concordats which his Department or the public bodies for which he is responsible have with the devolved Administrations.

Gregory Barker: The Memorandum of Understanding and Supplementary Agreements, agreed in September 2012, set out principles which underlie the relationship between the UK Government and the devolved Administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. These documents are available in the Libraries of the House.
	In addition, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has agreed a concordat that sets out the framework for administrative co-operation for the implementation of the regulatory framework established by the Climate Change Act 2008, with counterparts in the devolved Administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Copies of the documents will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
	We will check whether the public bodies that DECC has responsibility for have concordats with the devolved Administrations and these, or links to them, will be placed in the Libraries of the House in due course.

Renewable Energy

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 17 June 2013, Official Report, columns 461-2W, on renewable energy, if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's analysis of projects with the potential to generate 20 MW or more recorded on the renewable energy planning database cross-referenced by information on investment provided by developers.

Michael Fallon: The Renewable Energy Planning Database is already in the public domain and can be found at:
	https://restats.decc.gov.uk/cms/planning-database/
	Estimates of jobs and investment for projects with the potential to generate 20 MW or more were provided through analysis of publically available announcements and commercially sensitive information provided in confidence by developers. The following tables set out our analysis of projects aggregated by UK country, and English region.
	
		
			 Table 1: Breakdown of jobs and investment announcements since 2010 by UK country 
			  Announcement numbers 
			 Country Recorded investment Jobs that the announcement has the potential to support 
			 England £14,463 million 18,613 
			 Scotland £13,109 million 9,143 
			 Wales £1,399 million 1,952 
			 Northern Ireland £304 million 267 
		
	
	
		
			    
			 Total £29.2 billion 29,975 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Breakdown of jobs and investment announcements since 2010 by English regions 
			  Announcement numbers 
			 Region Recorded investment Jobs that the announcement has the potential to support 
			 North West £486 million 1,110 
			 North East £1,300 million 2,190 
			 West Midlands £17 million 140 
			 Yorkshire £2,882 million 3,801 
			 South West £1,467 million 1,643 
			 East Midlands £435 million 1,310 
			 London £85 million 225 
			 South East £80 million 488 
			 East £7,711 million 7,706 
			    
			 Total £14.46 billion 18,613 
			 Note: All figures are based on the Renewable Energy Planning Database and industry announcements. These are not official figures.

Renewable Energy

Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his policy is on the Government's investment in non-wind forms of renewable energy; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon: The Department set out the Government's expectations for the deployment of all forms of renewable energy, including non-wind forms, in the UK Renewable Energy Roadmap, published in 2011 and updated in 2012. The 2011 UK Renewable Energy Roadmap can be viewed online at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/48128/2167-uk-renewable-energy-roadmap.pdf
	The 2012 update to the UK Renewable Roadmap can be viewed online at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/80246/11-02-13_UK_Renewable_Energy_Roadmap_Update_FINAL_DRAFT .pdf

Serco

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department currently spends on contracts with Serco; and how much was spent in each year since 2008.

Gregory Barker: The following amounts (excluding VAT) have been paid to Serco Ltd:
	
		
			  £000 
			 2013-14 (1)7,000 
			 2012-13 18,000 
		
	
	
		
			 2011-12 2,000 
			 2010-11 2,000 
			 2009-10 l,710 
			 (1 )To end of May 2013

Wind Power

Ian Swales: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the average price paid to wind farm operators per megawatt hour for power generated was in the 12 months from May 2012.

Michael Fallon: holding answer 1 July 2013
	Onshore and offshore wind generating stations above 5 MW (and those below 5 MW in Northern Ireland) are eligible for support through the renewables obligation (RO) in the form of renewable obligation certificates (ROCs)(1). They also receive the wholesale electricity price and are eligible to receive levy exemption certificates.
	As support levels have changed over time under the RO, plants receive a different number of ROCs per MWh of generation depending on when they joined the scheme. Table 6.3 in Energy Trends presents total ROCs awarded and total generation for each cohort and can be found here:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/206534/et6_3.xls
	As the RO is a market-based support mechanism, the actual value of a ROC to a generator will depend on the supply and demand for ROCs during a given obligation period, and the individual arrangements reached between generators and the supplier or other person to whom they sell their ROCs. DECC do not hold information on purchase power agreements (PPAs) as this information is commercially confidential.
	For Government accounting purposes DECC assume that the obligation is set correctly (i.e. at the level of generation plus 10% headroom). Therefore, the value of a ROC to an electricity supplier is assumed to be the buyout price (which a supplier can pay to discharge its obligation) plus 10% (headroom). The buyout price is set by Ofgem, in 2012-13 it was £40.71; historic rates can be found on Ofgem's website here:
	http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Sustainability/Environment/RenewablObl/Documents1/buy-out%20price%20and%20mututalisation%20ceiling%202013_14.pdf
	Using these assumptions the average price paid under the RO for a given year can be calculated as follows:
	(Total number of ROCs issued to wind * Value of a ROC)/Total generation from wind
	(1) Since April 2010, new onshore wind sites in Great Britain between 50 kW and 5 MW have the choice of accreditation under either the RO or feed-in tariff; however, most have chosen the latter.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Basic Skills

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to help improve adult literacy and numeracy rates.

Matthew Hancock: Through the Adult Skills Budget, this Department provides significant support to adults to improve levels of literacy and numeracy. We fully fund English and maths courses from Entry Level 1 to Level 2 for all adults who lack those skills. Since August 2012, this includes funding GCSE English and maths qualifications to support adults to achieve these widely recognised qualifications.
	In 2011/12 we supported 782,500 adult learners doing an Adult Skills for Life course in English and 772,500 doing maths, a 22.5% increase for each over the previous year.
	We have encouraged awarding organisations to introduce new English and maths unit-based qualifications on the Qualifications and Curriculum Framework which will provide learners with more options for improving their skills. These qualifications are designed to help people address specific skill deficits prior to starting a full course of learning at a higher level.
	We reviewed English and maths provision in 2011 and are taking action to make it more effective including piloting in 2012/13 how providers can be funded on the basis of the skills gains made by learners and requiring apprenticeship providers to support apprentices in progressing towards the achievement of Level 2 English and maths.
	We are implementing the recommendations of Lord Lingfield's report on further education work force and teacher qualifications. I can confirm that as part of this new suite of qualifications for the work force we are launching new specialist qualifications for the teaching of English and maths in recognition of the importance of these subjects. The link to the full report can be found here:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/further-education-skills/docs/p/12-1198-professionalism-in-further-education-final
	This Department is also working with other interested Departments, including the Department for Work and Pensions and the Ministry of Justice. Jobcentre Plus advisers are now required to embed effective and timely screening of the English and maths needs of benefit claimants and mandate them to an initial interview with a provider and training where a lack of these skills is preventing them from moving into work. Similarly, we now assess the English and maths needs of offenders at the very start of their sentence.

Billing

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the average cost to his Department was of processing the payment of an invoice in the latest period for which figures are available; and what proportion of invoices settled in that period his Department paid (a) electronically and (b) by cheque.

Jo Swinson: The Department has not recently carried out a benchmarking exercise to establish the cost of processing an invoice for payment. The Department has recently moved its invoice processing function to a new ‘Shared Services’ provider therefore disproportionate costs would be incurred should a benchmarking exercise be carried out at this stage.
	During 2012/13 the Department made 99% of it payments electronically; the remainder were made by payable order.

EU Grants and Loans

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what funding was provided by the European Regional Development Fund for projects in the UK (a) in total since 2007, (b) per year since 2007, (c) in total per NUTS 1 region since 2007 and (d) in total per NUTS 1 region per year since 2007.

Michael Fallon: The United Kingdom European Regional Development Fund allocations for the 2007-13 programming period are as follows, broken down by NUTS 1 Area:
	
		
			 European regional development fund allocations 2007-13, United Kingdom NUTS 1 Areas 
			 £ million 
			 Area 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total 
			 East of England 12.7 13.0 13.3 13.5 13.8 14.1 14.4 94.8 
			 East Midlands 30.8 31.4 32.1 32.7 33.4 34.0 34.7 229.2 
			 London 20.9 21.3 21.7 22.2 22.6 23.1 23.5 155.3 
			 North East 43.1 44.0 44.9 45.8 46.7 47.6 48.6 320.7 
			 North West 133.9 118.3 102.0 85.0 67.3 68.7 70.0 645.2 
			 South East 2.7 2.8 2.8 2.9. 2.9 3.0 3.1 20.2 
			 South West 66.9 68.3 69.6 71.0 72.4 73.9 75.3 497.5 
			 West Midlands 45.9 46.8 47.8 48.7 49.7 50.7 51.7 341.3 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 108.5 94.5 80.0 64.9 49.1 50.1 51.1 498.2 
			 Total England 465.5 440.4 414.2 386.7 358.0 365.2 372.4 2,802.4 
			          
			 Scotland 68.7 66.2 63.7 61.0 58.1 55.2 52.0 424.9 
			 Northern Ireland 35.2 35.9 36.7 37.4 38.1 38.9 39.7 261.9 
			 Wales 151.7 154.7 157,8 161.0 164.2 167.5 170.8 1127.7 
			          
			 Total UK 721.1 697.2 672.4 646.1 618.4 626.8 634.9 4,616.9 
			 Note: The allocations are indicative £ sterling figures converted using a current exchange rate of £1= €1.1714.

European Social Fund

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the total funding provided by the European Social Fund was for projects in the UK (a) in total since 2007, (b) in each year since 2007, (c) in total in each NUTS 1 region since 2007 and (d) in total in each NUTS 1 region in each year since 2007.

Michael Fallon: The United Kingdom European Social Fund allocations for the 2007-13 programming period are as follows, broken down by NUTS 1 Area:
	
		
			 European social fund allocations 2007-13, United Kingdom NUTS 1 Areas 
			 £ million 
			 Area 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total 
			 East of England 26.4 27.0 27.5 28.1 28.6 29.2 29.8 196.6 
			 East Midlands 28.5 29.1 29.6 30.2 30.8 31.4 32.1 211.7 
			 London 56.4 57.5 58.6 59.8 61.0 62.2 63.5 419.0 
			 North East 27.4 27.9 28.5 29.1 29.7 30.2 30.9 203.7 
			 North West 93.6 83.3 72.5 61.3 49.6 50.5 51.6 462.2 
			 South East 26.3 26.8 27.3 27.9 28.4 29.0 29.6 195.3 
			 South West 39.1 39.9 40.7 41.5 42.3 43.2 44.0 290.7 
			 West Midlands 42.8 43.6 44.5 45.4 46.3 47.2 48.2 317.9 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 73.1 63.8 54.1 44.1 33.6 34.2 34.9 337.8 
			 Total England 413.5 398.8 383.4 367.2 350.3 357.3 364.4 2,634.9 
			          
			 Scotland 41.9 41.1 40.3 39.4 38.4 37.5 36.4 275.0 
			 Northern Ireland 19.0 19.4 19.8 20.2 20.6 21.0 21.4 141.4 
			 Wales 103.0 105.1 107.2 109.3 111.5 113.7 116.1 765.9 
			          
			 Total UK 577.4 564.4 550.7 536.1 520.8 529.5 538.3 3,817.2 
			 Note: The allocations are indicative £ sterling figures converted using a current exchange rate of £1= €1.1714.

Higher Education: Scholarships

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effectiveness, performance and effects of the National Scholarship Programme.

David Willetts: The Government have been very clear about the importance of widening participation and improving fair access in higher education—all those with the ability should have access to higher education, irrespective of family income.
	The Government are establishing a new framework, with increased responsibility placed on universities to widen participation. This includes arrangements for annual access agreements. Universities plan to spend over £670 million in 2016/17 on measures to widen participation through their access agreements.
	To make sure that we are doing everything possible to widen participation and promote fair access BIS Ministers asked the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the Office for Fair Access (OFFA) to develop a shared strategy for access and student success which will include advice to ensure we achieve the maximum impact from spending by Government, HEFCE and institutions. HEFCE and OFFA are due to deliver the strategy in autumn 2013. An interim report was published on 7 March 2013.
	Data about the National Scholarship Programme (NSP) submitted to HEFCE by institutions have shown that approximately 35,000 students are expected to receive an award during 20012-13. Around £69 million is expected to be delivered in the form of fee waivers, £21 million through cash bursaries, £2 million on free or discounted foundation years, and £29 million on discounted accommodation and other institutional support. Students have a choice over how they receive the remaining £10 million.
	Independent evaluation has shown that there is a low awareness of the NSP. In addition, it was found to have limited impact on students' decision making because funding is not generally guaranteed at the point of application to university. From 2015-16, the Government will refocus the National Scholarship Programme to support postgraduate students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The £50 million fund will be administered by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). HEFCE will allocate the money competitively to higher education institutions, and will attract additional scholarship funding from the private sector or from the institutions' own resources.

Legal Costs

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department spent on external lawyers' fees in the last year for which figures are available.

Jo Swinson: The information requested is being collated and will be sent to the hon. Member, and placed in the Libraries of the House, shortly.

Local Enterprise Partnerships: West Midlands

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what information his Department collects on the allocation of resources by local enterprise partnerships in (a) the West Midlands, (b) Coventry and (c) Coventry South constituency.

Michael Fallon: Local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) determine where they allocate their resources. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills does not collect information on where these resources are allocated by LEPs.

Manufacturing Industries: Sports

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to support sports equipment manufacturers.

Michael Fallon: Sports equipment manufacturers can access help and advice to start and grow their business through ‘GREAT’
	www.greatbusiness.gov.uk
	or
	www.gov.uk
	eligible businesses can gain support in areas such as running, funding, staffing and expanding a business. The Government-funded Manufacturing Advisory Service provides practical support on all aspects of manufacturing, including direct access to manufacturing experts with a proven track record
	www.mymas.org/services
	There is also support available from UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) for those companies wishing to grow through international trade.
	In addition, the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative aims to improve global competitiveness of UK manufacturing supply chains by supporting innovative projects where the UK is well placed to take a global lead. The deadline for applications to Round 4 is noon on 16 October 2013; further information about the competition—which is open to all organisations operating as part of a manufacturing supply chain—can be found at the AMSCI helpdesk webpage:
	www.financebirmingham.com/amsci

Manufacturing Industries: Sports

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the growth of sports equipment manufacturing businesses over the last 10 years.

Michael Fallon: The sporting goods manufacturing industry has consistently employed around 6,000 people over the period 2001-11 (the latest year for which figures are available). In terms of gross value added its economic contribution in current prices is given in the table along with the number of businesses operating in this industry.
	
		
			  Number of businesses Gross value added (current £ million) 
			 2001 462 198 
			 2002 479 196 
			 2003 482 164 
			 2004 504 168 
			 2005 520 234 
			 2006 537 208 
			 2007 519 165 
			 2008 708 256 
			 2009 568 113 
			 2010 571 190 
			 2011 546 187 
			 Source: Annual Business Survey

MITIE Group

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department spends on contracts with MITIE; and how much was spent on contracts with MITIE in each year since 2008.

Jo Swinson: Since 2008 the Department has spent the following amounts with MITIE group companies:
	
		
			 MITIE Technical Facilities Management Ltd 
			  £ 
			 2008 0 
			 2009 0 
			 2010 145,407 
			 2011 240,170 
			 2012 73,041 
			 2013 (to 30 June) 0 
		
	
	
		
			 MITIE Catering Services (London) Ltd 
			  £ 
			 2008 34 
			 2009 to 2013 (to 30 June) 0

Mobile Phones

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which companies supply (a) mobile telephones and (b) mobile data services to his Department.

Jo Swinson: The purchase of mobile telephones and mobile data services to BIS is arranged through a Cabinet Office framework agreement with Vodafone plc. On occasion, where the business requirement demands, for example in areas of limited reception, this can include purchases of equipment and/or services through other providers such as O2.

Post Codes: Databases

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate his Department has made of the likely yearly costs to the Government of accessing the Postcode Address File following the privatisation of Royal Mail.

Michael Fallon: Royal Mail is legally obliged to make the Postcode Address File (PAF) available to anyone who wishes to uses it on reasonable terms. This obligation is regulated by Ofcom and will apply regardless of ownership of Royal Mail. On 14 June Royal Mail announced a package of measures to improve access, including a forthcoming consultation to simplify radically the licensing and pricing regime. In addition, Ofcom recently consulted on the licensing regime and will publish its conclusions shortly. Government and Royal Mail have previously announced the intention to introduce a PAF Public Sector Licence to cover all uses of PAF by the public sector. The forthcoming Royal Mail consultation and the resulting regime will inform the PAF Public Sector Licence discussions and work, including assessment of costs.

Press: Subscriptions

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department spent on newspapers, periodicals and trade publications in the last 12 months.

Jo Swinson: The financial data held within BIS do not separately identify the amount spent on newspapers and periodicals and such costs are included amongst all publication costs.
	In the 12 months to June 2013 the amount of expenditure against all publications was £194,258. This figure includes a range of publications, including newspapers and periodicals.
	The Department does publish details of all individual spend transactions as part of its obligations under transparency. These details are openly available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-business-innovation-skills/series/bis-spending-totals
	The work of BIS regularly leads the news agenda and national, regional and specialist media all have a keen interest in the Department's work. It's an important part of our work to keep abreast of all media coverage, not just of what the Department does, but also breaking news and analysis about all its very diverse policy areas.

Research: EU Grants and Loans

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much EU research and development funding has been awarded under the FP7 programme to projects involving British universities and companies (a) in total and (b) in each year since 2007; and how much such funding has been awarded to each British company and university in receipt of such funds in total and in each year since 2007.

David Willetts: The total amount of EU funding awarded to UK Higher Education Establishments and Private for Profit organisations from the EU Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) to date is €3,708 million and €878 million respectively. This information is taken from the Commission's report of FP7 projects for the UK, which includes all signed grant agreements registered centrally as of 21 June 2013.
	FP7 funding is received as a combination of pre-financing paid at the start of a project, interim payments following each reporting period and a final payment at the end of the project for the last reporting period. The Commission does not release payment information. Instead it provides information based on the total value of the grant agreement in the year it was signed, which is presented in the following table for UK Higher Education Establishments and Private for Profit organisations.
	The Commission's confidentiality rules for the Framework Programme allows communication of applicant data in an aggregated form only, therefore I am unable to provide details of funding awarded to individual UK universities or companies.
	
		
			  EC requested financial contribution (€) 
			 FP7 Project signature date Private for Profit Organisations Higher Education Establishments 
			 2007 38,241,049 110,976,901 
			 2008 115,851,745 508,588,393 
			 2009 185,428,145 527,858,603 
			 2010 142,954,569 600,280,674 
			 2011 150,961,336 788,613,258 
			 2012 208,982,986 856,334,655 
			 2013 35,860,287 316,231,812

Staff

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department spent on (a) recruitment agency fees, (b) outplacement agency fees for displaced or redundant staff and (c) staff training in each of the last 12 months.

Jo Swinson: Details of spend by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on (a) recruitment agency fees can be found on the Department's website under the heading ‘Hire of Agency Staff (Clerical/Secretariat /Other)’ and ‘Hire of Agency Staff (Professional/Management)’:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-business-innovation-skills/series/bis-spending-totals
	(b) Outplacement agency fees for displaced or redundant staff was £0 and (c) staff training in core BIS for each of the last 12 months is:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2012  
			 April 9,696 
			 May 120,560 
			 June 71,629 
			 July 120,813 
			 August 95,839 
			 September 133,861 
			 October 185,559 
			 November 164,228 
			 December 103,629 
			   
			 2013  
			 January 203,618 
			 February 215,003 
			 March 646,564 
		
	
	In common with other large organisations, natural staff turnover can mean that we sometimes need to recruit people to fill specialist roles, where there is a clear business need to have someone in that role. As it can take three or more months to recruit an individual, temporary specialist staff are sometimes hired while permanent appointments are being made—but only where there is a clear business case. Temporary appointments may also be made for genuinely time limited projects requiring specialist experience not normally found in the civil service.
	The Department is accredited by Investors in People, and we are very proud of that fact.

Students: Loans

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will provide an assurance that there will be no retrospective changes to the terms of student loans taken out before 2012.

David Willetts: The Education (Student Loans) (Repayment) Regulations set out the terms and conditions of income contingent student loans for the current year. We have no intention to change retrospectively the terms that were applied in earlier years to these loans.

Vacancies

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his Department's vacancy rate was in 2012-13; and what vacancy rate has been assumed for 2013-14.

Jo Swinson: The vacancy rate in BIS has been between 1% and 2% over the financial year 2012-13. We have assumed the same vacancy rate for 2013-14.

HEALTH

Cancer

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will hold discussions with UK broadcasters on the scope for the inclusion of factual and relevant information relating to the signs and symptoms of cancer within the storylines of popular serial dramas.

Anna Soubry: Public Health England (PHE) has a keen proactive interest in working with the media across all campaigns and regularly meets with media owners—including television programming—and briefs them on its campaigns. This includes PHE engaging proactively with programme makers to understand how we can support and influence future storylines.
	In terms of the cancer sign and symptoms campaign, it ensures that up to date information on the various campaigns and advice as well as leaflets and posters (for appropriate display within programmes) are provided regularly. Programme makers wish their dramas to be topical and relevant and it is both their and PHE's interest to develop the relationship further.
	PHE cannot influence storylines as such but can ensure that up to date information on campaigns and initiatives is provided.

Cancer

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer, what progress he has made in meeting the target for saving additional lives each year by 2014-15.

Anna Soubry: ‘Improving Outcomes: a Strategy for Cancer’, published in January 2011, set out the ambition to save 5,000 additional lives (avoidable premature deaths) each year by 2014-15. Avoidable premature deaths are those that occur among cancer patients within five years of diagnosis (premature) and that would not be expected to have occurred if survival in Britain matched the level of the best seen in Europe (avoidable).
	While it is too early to undertake an analysis of our performance against this ambition, details concerning the basis for this calculation and our projection for lives, saved can be found in Annex C of ‘Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer—Second Annual Report’. A copy of the report has already been placed in the Library.

Cancer: Drugs

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have received medicine through the Cancer Drugs Fund in (a) the West Midlands, (b) Coventry and (c) Coventry South constituency since its introduction.

Norman Lamb: Between October 2010 and the end of March 2013, over 3,400 patients in the West Midlands strategic health authority area have benefited from the additional funding we have made available for cancer drugs.
	Information on patients funded through the Cancer Drugs Fund is not collected at city or constituency level.
	Information on the numbers of patients benefiting from the Cancer Drugs Fund since NHS England took responsibility for the Fund from April 2013 is not yet available.

Cancer: Drugs

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the number of people that will be affected by the move from the Cancer Drugs Fund to a value-based pricing system in (a) the West Midlands, (b) Coventry and (c) Coventry South constituency.

Norman Lamb: We have made no such estimate.
	We are committed to ensuring that arrangements are in place to protect individual patients receiving treatment through the Cancer Drugs Fund as the planned end of the Fund approaches.

Care Quality Commission

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what salary grades the Care Quality Commission has used in its public affairs team in each year since its establishment; and how many people have been employed at each grade in each such year.

Norman Lamb: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and social care in England. The CQC has provided the following information.
	CQC introduced a pay and grading framework for all staff on 1 April 2012. Before this point, jobs did not have comparable grades across the organisation.
	
		
			 CQC Salary pay and grading as from 1 April 2012 
			 £ 
			  National London 
			 Grade Minimum Maximum Minimum Maximum 
			 A 49,490 58,580 53,990 63,080 
			 B 36,966 43,784 41,466 48,284 
			 C 29,442 33,835 33,942 38,335 
			 D 24,745 27,876 29,245 32,376 
			 E 22,018 24,442 26,518 28,942 
			 F 18,988 21,109 23,488 25,609 
			 G 14,948 16,059. 19,448 20,559 
		
	
	The Executive 3 (E3) pay scale is treated separately from the A-G grades and is not subject to being London or National. The pay scale is £70,000 to £100,000.
	The following table shows how the establishment of the public affairs team is split by pay grade.
	
		
			 Salary grades used by the Public Affairs team in 2012 and 2013 
			 Grade 1 April 2012 1 April 2013 
			 E3 1 1 
			 A 4 3 
			 B 1 2 
			 C 0 1 
			 D 4 4 
			 Total 10 11 
			 Note: All grades are on the London scale.

Care Quality Commission

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the Care Quality Commission has spent on public affairs in each year since its establishment.

Norman Lamb: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and social care in England. The CQC has provided the following information.
	In the year 2009-10 and 2010-11, public affairs and media were one team so there was no specific cost code for public affairs. CQC expenditure on public affairs in the last two years is in the following table.
	
		
			  Spend (£) 
			 2011-12 593,498 
			 2012-13 785,606

Care Quality Commission: Publicity

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people the Care Quality Commission has employed in its public affairs team in each year since its establishment.

Norman Lamb: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and social care in England. The CQC has provided the following information:
	In 2009 and 2010, public affairs and media were one team, so it is not possible to provide a separate figure for public affairs for these years. From 2011 onwards they were split. The following table provides numbers in the public affairs team on 1 April each year for 2011, 2012 and 2013.
	
		
			  Establishment Actual Headcount Actual Full Time Equivalent Vacancies Temporary/ Interim staff Vacancies after Temps 
			 1 April 2011 9 10 9.78 -0.78 0 -0.78 
			 1 April 2012 10 9 8.89 1.11 2 -0.89 
			 1 April 2013 11 5 4.89 6.11 4 2.11

Cerebral Palsy

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what guidance his Department issues on the commissioning of selective dorsal rhizotomy for the treatment of spasticity;
	(2)  how many selective dorsal rhizotomy procedures were approved under the NHS in the last year for which figures are available;
	(3)  how many clinical commissioning groups in England commission selective dorsal rhizotomy procedures for the treatment of spasticity.

Norman Lamb: Selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) is classified as a specialised service, and is therefore commissioned directly by NHS England rather than by clinical commissioning groups.
	NHS England issued a “Clinical Commissioning Policy Statement on Selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR)” in April 2013. The document states that the procedure is not routinely commissioned, but may be available on a limited basis as part of a ‘Commissioning through Evaluation’ project. A copy has been placed in the Library.
	We understand that 60-70 SDR procedures were funded by the national health service in England in 2012-13.

Congenital Abnormalities

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many children with a diagnosis of fetal valproate syndrome also have a diagnosis of (a) spina bifida, (b) neural tube defects, (c) cardiac and heart malformations, (d) kidney malformations and (e) cleft lip or palate;
	(2)  how many children were diagnosed with fetal anti-convulsant syndrome between 1989 and 2012.

Daniel Poulter: The information requested is not collected centrally.
	The Health and Social Care Information Centre advise their clinical coders are unable to identify fetal anti-convulsant syndrome using the ICD10 classification of diseases that is used in the Hospital Episode Statistics. Therefore they are unable to supply any data for these questions.

Dementia: Young People

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will work with his counterparts in the devolved administrations on a UK-wide approach to younger people with dementia;
	(2)  what comparative assessment he has made of the rate of dementia diagnosis in each constituent part of the UK; and if he will work with his counterparts in the devolved administrations to ensure that best practice on dementia diagnosis is shared across the UK.

Norman Lamb: Improving diagnosis rates for dementia in England is a priority for the Government and we want to see both an increase in the overall rate and a reduction in the current regional variation. Diagnosis rates for dementia in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are a matter for the devolved administrations.
	Dementia has been prioritised by both the Department through the NHS Mandate and NHS England has an ambition to ensure that two-thirds of people with dementia are identified and given appropriate support by 2015.
	Officials and clinical advisers from England and the devolved administrations met in May 2013 to share policy and practice on dementia.

Footwear

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the cost of treating people with conditions caused by poor quality or inappropriately fitted footwear in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many children received orthotic footwear inserts in each of the last five years.

Daniel Poulter: The Department can neither state how many children received orthotic footwear in each of the last five years nor estimate the cost of treating people with conditions caused by poor quality or inappropriately fitted footwear, as this information is not held centrally.

General Practitioners: Rural Areas

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with the Royal College of General Practitioners on the effect on the consulting time available to GPs in rural areas of the time taken to make home calls.

Daniel Poulter: The Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), has not had recent discussions with the Royal College of General Practitioners concerning the effect of making home calls on the consulting time available for GPs in rural areas.

Medical Treatments: Lasers

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have received skin laser treatments on the NHS in each of the last six years; what the reasons have been for this treatment; how old such patients were at the time of treatment; and what the cost to the public purse has been of such treatments.

Norman Lamb: This information cannot be provided in the format requested. In the following tables we have provided the number of finished consultant episodes (FCEs) in England with a procedure of skin laser treatment by five year age groups for 2006-07 to 2011-12 and also provided the top primary diagnoses (diagnoses that were one of the 10 most common in any of the last six years) for FCEs with this procedure.
	The Health and Social Care Information Centre has advised that, due to procedure coding arrangements, the FCE count will not capture all those where skin laser treatment was provided and that Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data contain no information about the cost associated with providing these treatments.
	
		
			 Count of FCEs(1) in England with a procedure of laser destruction of lesion of skin(2) by age group, 2006-07 to 2011-12(3) 
			 Age band 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Total 5,111 5,379 5,665 5,126 5,204 4,414 
			        
			 0 to 4 659 724 782 774 665 677 
			 5 to 9 560 611 669 615 583 478 
			 10 to 14 459 564 606 587 526 430 
			 15 to 19 401 498 460 544 469 375 
			 20 to 24 211 324 346 267 271 228 
			 25 to 29 174 259 263 230 200 182 
			 30 to 34 168 224 248 254 243 183 
		
	
	
		
			 35 to 39 242 269 312 272 280 177 
			 40 to 44 324 355 387 300 330 248 
			 45 to 49 297 326 379 260 274 202 
			 50 to 54 242 255 302 210 221 186 
			 55 to 59 270 233 236 175 208 200 
			 60 to 64 278 237 261 226 213 185 
			 65 to 69 190 150 147 134 206 182 
			 70 to 74 206 118 105 89 169 165 
			 75 to 79 171 102 67 61 133 118 
			 80 to 84 148 61 46 72 111 108 
			 85 to 89 65 43 31 36 65 55 
			 90 to 120 46 21 13 14 23 26 
			 Unknown 0 5 5 6 14 9 
		
	
	
		
			 Count of FCEs(1) in England with a procedure of laser destruction of lesion of skin(2) by the top primary diagnoses(4) (includes top 10 for each year), 2006-07 to 2011-12(3) 
			 Primary diagnosis 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Other congenital malformations of skin 1,674 1,939 1,928 1,771 1,639 1,434 
			 Unknown and unspecified causes of morbidity — 1 15 30 520 552 
			 Diseases of capillaries 673 761 857 502 490 358 
			 Melanocytic naevi 296 364 349 378 328 251 
			 Haemangioma and lymphangioma any site 360 381 397 283 241 199 
			 Other disorders of pigmentation 105 110 143 198 214 184 
			 Hypertrichosis 51 57 87 196 203 166 
			 Atrophic disorders of skin 164 264 279 250 217 158 
			 Hypertrophic disorders of skin 61 110 177 180 183 108 
			 Rosacea 95 143 205 140 146 107 
			 Other congenital malformations of peripheral vascular system 102 61 129 106 73 90 
			 Other follicular disorders 27 94 98 60 43 63 
		
	
	
		
			 Other disorders of skin and subcutaneous tissue NEC 145 115 92 66 81 60 
			 Other malignant neoplasms of skin 379 191 50 84 61 39 
			 Skin changes due chronic exposure to non-ionizing radiation 124 41 36 33 17 14 
			 Carcinoma in situ of skin 228 55 18 9 7 8 
			 Notes: 1. An FCE is a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FCEs are counted against the year in which they end. Figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year. 2. Office of Population Censuses and Surveys Classification of Interventions and Procedures 4.6 coding used: S09.1—Laser destruction of lesion of skin or head or neck S09.2—Laser destruction of lesion of skin NEC (not elsewhere classified) 3. The number of episodes where the procedure (or intervention) was recorded in any of the 24 (12 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and four prior to 2002-03) procedure fields in a HES record. A record is only included once in each count, even if the procedure is recorded in more than one procedure field of the record. Note that more procedures are carried out than episodes with a main or secondary procedure. For example, patients undergoing a ‘cataract operation’ would tend to have at least two procedures—removal of the faulty lens and the fitting of a new one—counted in a single episode. 4. HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in national health service practice. For example, changes in activity may be due to changes in the provision of care. 5. The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the HES data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital. 6. HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts in England and from some independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. Health and Social Care Information Centre liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.

MITIE Group

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spends on contracts with MITIE; and how much was spent on contracts with MITIE in each year since 2008.

Daniel Poulter: Records show that there has been no expenditure with MITIE in the following calendar years: 2008, 2012 and 2013.
	The following table details the spend in the remaining calendar years of 2009, 2010 and 2011 on contracts with MITIE.
	
		
			 Merchant MITIE Catering 
			  £ 
			 2008 0.00 
			 2009 4,301.55 
			 2010 9,517.41 
			 2011 184.63 
			 2012 0.00 
			 2013 0.00 
			 Total 14,003.59

Neurogenic Bowel Dysfunction

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the population in England with (a) a spinal injury, (b) multiple sclerosis, (c) Parkinson's disease and (d) spina bifida is affected with neurogenic bowel dysfunction.

Norman Lamb: This information is not collected.

Obesity

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the effectiveness of the indicators set out in the Quality and Outcomes Framework in providing incentives to GPs to tackle obesity; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) manages the independent process for developing and reviewing the evidence base for Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) clinical and public health related indicators. In developing QOF indicators, NICE consider both the financial and clinical effectiveness indicators.
	The independent advisory committee then recommends new indicators or changes to indicators. NHS Employers then negotiate with the General Practitioners Committee of the British Medical Association on which of the published indicators should be applied nationally and what the financial value and payment thresholds for those indicators should be. NHS Employers negotiate on behalf of NHS England and the devolved Administrations.
	All the proposals for new indicators in QOF were piloted by NICE for at least six months and their independent advisory committee considered the question of practical implementation before they made their recommendations.
	The effectiveness of QOF indicators are reviewed if there is new evidence on either the clinical or financial effectiveness of that indicator, or if NICE are requested to review the indicator.

Palliative Care

Gerry Sutcliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what his policy is on providing assistance to relatives and friends of deceased persons in the preparation of their submissions to the Liverpool Care Pathway review;
	(2)  if he will take steps to ensure that families wishing to make a submission to the Liverpool Care Pathway review are able to access medical records within a timescale that enables them to make an informed submission;
	(3)  what measures he will put in place to guarantee patient confidentiality without diminishing the level of detail in the findings of the Liverpool Care Pathway review.

Norman Lamb: Public submissions to the independent Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP) review closed on 5 April. As it is independent of the Department, the LCP review is responsible for its own internal processes. However, the review will ensure that all data received is anonymised.
	The independent review panel, chaired by Baroness Neuberger, is planning to publish its report into the Liverpool Care Pathway in July.

Press: Subscriptions

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on newspapers, periodicals and trade publications in the last 12 months.

Daniel Poulter: The Department's spend on newspapers, periodicals and trade publications in the last 12 months (June 2012-May 2013) was £125,908. This shows a 4% reduction on the April 2011-May 2012 figure of £131,101 and a 49.5% reduction on the 2009-10 figure of £249,152 under the previous Government.

Prosthetics

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what use is being made of 3D printers to create prosthetics within the NHS.

Norman Lamb: We understand from NHS England that specialised hospitals in the national health service have been using the technologies of computer-aided design, computer-aided manufacturing technologies and 3D printers to create prosthetics for a number of years; ranging from small dentistry metal implants to small bone prosthetic implants. The Maxillofacial Unit in Morriston hospital in collaboration with the product design and research (PDR) centre at Cardiff metropolitan university is the national centre for activity in this field. They continue to work in partnership with universities and industry to further explore the wider capability of this technology for the benefit of patients.

Sick Leave

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many days on average staff of his Department in each pay grade were absent from work as a result of ill health in each of the last 12 months.

Daniel Poulter: The Department has one of the lowest rates across Whitehall for the number of working days lost through sickness.
	The Department submits annual data to the Cabinet office on a quarterly rolling annual, basis by region, grade, age, gender and sickness. It is collected quarterly in arrears. During the period 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013, the latest date for which data is available, a total of 9,262 sick days were authorised which equates to 4.1 annual working days lost per member of staff.
	The following table shows the absence rate by staff grade for that period:
	
		
			 Grade Total Working Days Lost in 2012-13 Average Working Days Lost (per staff year) 
			 Administrative Officer 1,089 9.8 
			 Executive Officer 2,403 7.0 
			 Higher Executive Officer 1,768 5.1 
			 Senior Executive Office 1,554 3.4 
			 Grade 7 1,689 3.3 
			 Grade 6 395 1.4 
			 Senior Civil Servant 364 1.7 
			 Overall 9,262 4.1 
			 Source. Department of Health Business Management System

Staff

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on (a) recruitment agency fees, (b) outplacement agency fees for displaced or redundant staff and (c) staff training in each of the last 12 months.

Daniel Poulter: The Department does not collect all the data in the format requested. Where this is not available the last available figures have been provided.
	During 2012-13 the Department spent £49,275 on recruitment agency fees to recruit permanent civil servants to the Department. An additional £36,246 was paid to the Department for Education to recruit a Chief Social Worker as part of the Department's contribution to the joint recruitment process. In 2013-14, £6,750 has been spent to date.
	In the last 12 months the Department has paid £11,973 to provide outplacement services for staff at risk of redundancy.
	The following table shows the monthly breakdown of these charges:
	
		
			 Outplacement Services Expenditure per month 
			 Month Cost (£) 
			 August 2012 1,043 
			 September 2012 1,808 
			 October 2012 157 
			 November 2012 1,374 
			 December 2012 772 
			 January 2013 533 
			 February 2013 1,378 
			 March 2013 1,057 
			 April 2013 0 
			 May 2013 3,851 
		
	
	During 2012-13 the Department spent £561,716 on corporately funded training and development programmes for its officials. The following table shows the monthly breakdown of these charges:
	
		
			 2012-13 Corporate Learning and Development Expenditure Monthly Analysis for centrally funded training and development courses 
			 Month Costs (£) 
			 April 2012(1) 497.93 
			 May 2012 8,053.62 
			 June 2012 152.74 
			 July 2012 114,555.90 
			 August 2012(1) 11,611.97 
			 September 2012 12,969.97 
			 October 2012 48,278.45 
			 November 2012 11,197.88 
			 December 2012 18,867.63 
			 January 2013 183,107.57 
			 February 2013 20,614.51 
			 March 2013 156,027.72 
			 (1) These represent refunds due to the cancellation of training places. 
		
	
	In addition, directorates also have learning and development budgets. Expenditure from these local budgets are not tracked centrally and information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Streptococcus

Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent progress he has made in implementing the Government's strategy for dealing with Group B Streptococcus;
	(2)  what the most recent recommendation is that he has received from the UK National Screening Committee on screening for Group B Streptococcus;
	(3)  what steps he has taken to ensure that appropriate tests are used within the NHS when a clinician and pregnant woman seek to identify Group B Streptococcus carriage.

Daniel Poulter: The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in partnership with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine are in the process of appointing a clinical research fellow to carry out an audit across the United Kingdom. It would aim to provide feedback and advice to all participating trusts about how they can further improve their adherence to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists guidelines on the prevention of neonatal Group B Streptococcus disease.
	The National Institute for Health Research's Health Technology Assessment programme is planning to publish a call for research proposals in July 2013 on rapid testing for Group B streptococcal colonisation in pregnant women considered to be at high risk.
	The UK National Screening Committee advises Ministers and the national health service in all four countries about all aspects of screening policy and supports implementation. Using research evidence, pilot programmes and economic evaluation, it assesses the evidence against a set of internationally recognised criteria. The UK National Screening Committee reviewed the evidence for screening Group B Streptococcus carriage in pregnancy in November 2012 and recommended that antenatal screening for Group B Streptococcus carriage should not be offered, because there is insufficient evidence to demonstrate that the benefits to be gained from screening and treating those carrying the organism with intravenous antibiotics during labour would outweigh the harms.
	The advice from the UK National Screening Committee is consistent with that from both the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. The policy is due to be reviewed again by the UK NSC in 2015-16, or earlier if significant new evidence emerges.
	Public Health England in partnership with professional organisations has developed standard “B 58—Processing of swabs for Group B Streptococcal Carriage” available from the Public Health England website at:
	www.hpa.org.uk/SMI/pdf/Bacteriology
	which describes the processing of specimens from pregnant women for carriage of Group B streptococci. It is recognised that screening of pregnant women is not currently recommended in the UK, however B 58 is a useful method for laboratories analysing samples for the presence of Group B streptococci.
	Public Health England is producing a working paper on the availability and quality of Group B Streptococcus testing within NHS laboratories, and work with the Royal College of Pathologists to ensure an appropriate test is available.
	Public Health England is working with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Royal College of Midwives to develop educational materials for health professionals, to include details on the appropriate testing methodology, sample site selection and culture methods for Group B Streptococcus carriage in pregnant women.

Vacancies

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department's vacancy rate was in 2012-13; and what vacancy rate has been assumed for 2013-14.

Daniel Poulter: The Department does not use or monitor a vacancy rate nor does it use any measure reflecting the variation of vacancies over time. The Department is not required to report dated vacancy counts to any central data collection bodies, such as the Cabinet Office or the Office of National Statistics.
	However, vacant positions at senior civil servant level can be obtained in the form of organisation charts and the latest organisational charts for the Department (as at 1 April 2013) can be found at:
	http://data.gov.uk/dataset/staff-organograms-and-pay-department-of-health